(Thomas Watson, "Body of Divinity")
What are the differences between worldly joys
and spiritual joys? The gleanings of spiritual joys,
are better than the vintage of the worldly joys.
Spiritual joys help to make us BETTER; worldly
joys often make us worse. "I spoke unto you in
your prosperity; but you said--I will not hear."
Pride and luxury are the two worms which
are bred from worldly pleasures.
But spiritual joy is cordial medicine, which
not only comforts, but purifies--
it makes a Christian more holy;
it causes an antipathy against sin;
it infuses strength to live and suffer for Christ.
Some colors not only delight the eye--but
strengthen the sight. Just so, the joys of God
not only refresh the soul--but strengthen it.
"The joy of the Lord is your strength."
Spiritual joys are INWARD, they are heart joys.
"Your heart shall rejoice." True joy is hidden within;
worldly joy lies on the outside, like the dew which
wets the leaf. "Laughter can conceal a heavy heart;
when the laughter ends, the grief remains." Like a
house which has a gilded frontispiece--but all the
rooms within are in shambles. But spiritual joy lies
most within. "Your heart shall rejoice." Divine joy
is like a spring of water, which runs underground.
Others can see the sufferings of a Christian--but
they cannot see his joy. His joy is hidden manna
--hidden from the eye of the world; he has joyful
music which others cannot hear. The marrow lies
within--the best joy is within the heart.
Spiritual joys are SWEETER than worldly joys.
"Your love is sweeter than wine!" Spiritual joys are
a Christian's festival; they are the golden pot, and
the sweet manna. They are so sweet, that they make
everything else sweet! Spiritual joys sweeten health
and estate, as sweet water poured on flowers makes
them more fragrant and aromatic. Divine joys are so
delicious and ravishing, that they put our mouth out
of taste for earthly delights; just as he who has been
drinking cordials, tastes little sweetness in water.
Paul had so tasted these divine joys, that his mouth
was out of taste for worldly things. The world was
crucified to him--it was like a dead thing, he could
find no sweetness in it.
Spiritual joys are more PURE; they are not tempered
with any bitter ingredients. A sinner's joy is mixed with
dregs--it is embittered with fear and guilt--he drinks
wormwood wine. But spiritual joy is not muddied with
guilt--but like a crystal stream, it runs pure. Spiritual
joy is a rose without prickles; it is honey without wax.
Spiritual joys are SATISFYING joys. "Ask, that your
joy may be full." Worldly joys can no more fill the heart,
than a drop can fill an ocean! They may please the palate
or imagination--but cannot satisfy the soul. "No matter
how much we see--we are never satisfied. No matter
how much we hear--we are not content." Eccles. 1:8.
But the joys of God satisfy. "Your comforts delight my
soul." Psalm 94:19. There is as much difference between
spiritual joys and earthly joys--as between a banquet
which is eaten--and one which is painted on the wall!
Spiritual joys are STRONGER joys than worldly joys.
"Strong consolation." Heb 6:18. They are strong joys
indeed, which can bear up a Christian's heart in trials
and afflictions. "Having received the word in much
affliction--with joy." These joys are roses which grow
in winter! These joys can sweeten the bitter waters of
Marah! He who has these joys--can gather grapes from
thorns, and fetch honey out of the carcass of a lion!
At the end of the rod--a Christian tastes honey! "As
sorrowing--yet always rejoicing."
Spiritual joys are UNWEARIED joys. Other joys, when
in excess, often cause loathing; too much honey nauseates.
One may be tired of pleasure--as well as labor. King Xerxes
offered a reward to him who could find out a new pleasure.
But the joys of God, though they satisfy--yet they never glut.
A drop of joy is sweet--but the more of this wine the better!
Such as drink of the joys of heaven--are never glutted. Their
satiety is without loathing, because they still desire more of
the joy with which they are satiated.
Spiritual joys are ABIDING joys. Worldly joys are soon
gone. Such as bathe in the perfumed waters of pleasure--
may have joys which seem to be sweet--but they are swift.
They are like meteors--which give a bright and sudden flash,
and then disappear. But the joys which believers have are
abiding; they are a blossom of eternity--a pledge of those
rivers of pleasure which run at God's right hand! "In Your
presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal
pleasures!" Psalm 16:11
If God gives His people such joy in this life, oh! then, what
glorious joy will He give them in heaven! "Enter into the joy
of your Lord!" God keeps His best wine until last. What joy
will that be--when the soul shall forever bathe itself in the
pure and pleasant fountain of God's love! What joy will that
be--to see the orient brightness of Christ's face, and have
the kisses of those lips which drop sweet-smelling myrrh!
How may this set us all longing for that place where sorrow
cannot live--and where joy cannot die!
LINK
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Billy Graham Quotes
Billy Graham1965.
Quoted in “World Aflame”, pp. 79-80.
*****************
Quoted in “Billy Graham Speaks: The Evangelical World Prospect,” Christianity Today, vol.3, no.1, p.5, Oct.13, 1958.
LINK
Multitudes of Christians within the church are moving toward the point where they may reject the institution that we call the church. They are beginning to turn to more simplified forms of worship. They are hungry for a personal and vital experience with Jesus Christ. They want a heartwarming personal faith. Unless the church quickly recovers its authoritative Biblical message, we may witness the spectacle of millions of Christians going outside the institutional church to find spiritual food.
Quoted in “World Aflame”, pp. 79-80.
*****************
I think one of the first things I would do would be to get a small group of eight or ten or twelve men around me that would meet a few hours a week and pay the price. It would cost them something in time and effort. I would share with them everything I have, over a period of years. Then I would actually have twelve ministers among the laymen who in turn could take eight or ten or twelve more and teach them. I know one or two churches that are doing that, and it is revolutionizing the church. Christ, I think, set the pattern. He spent most of his time with twelve men. He didn’t spend it with a great crowd. In fact, every time he had a great crowd it seems to me that there weren’t too many results. The great results, it seems to me, came in his personal interview and in the time he spent with the twelve.
Quoted in “Billy Graham Speaks: The Evangelical World Prospect,” Christianity Today, vol.3, no.1, p.5, Oct.13, 1958.
LINK
Life working in and under death - Philpot
"Will you show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise you? Shall your loving-kindness be declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in destruction?" –Psalm 88:10-11
This is not the language of a soul dead in trespasses and sins, but it is the breathing of a living soul struggling and grappling with death. What a difference there is, where there is life working in and under death, and where death reigns absolutely! between the quickened soul and that in which there is nothing but death--death without one spark of spiritual life, death without one ray of heavenly teaching. There is no groan, no sigh, no lamentation, no piteous inquiry, no pouring out of the heart before God, where the soul is utterly dead, any more than there is life and breath in a corpse in the tomb.
But wherever spiritual life is implanted in the soul from the Fountain of life, that life groans under death. It sighs from out of the grave; it gasps for breath, under the corpse which overlies it; and seeks to heave itself up from that dead weight, from that overlying mass of carnality which clasps it in its rigid and chilling embrace; it endeavors to uplift and extricate itself from that body of sin and death which spreads its cold and torpid mass all round it so that it is unable to arise.
Do you know the workings of spiritual life in this way? the heavings, the gaspings, the uprisings of the life of God in your soul, pressed, overlain, overwhelmed, and all but suffocated by that carnal, dead, barren, earthly, devilish nature, which lies as a weight upon you? Depend upon it--if you have never known what it is to gasp and pant and groan and sigh under the weight of a body of sin and death, you know nothing of the vital operations of the Holy Spirit in your conscience.
J. C. Philpot
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
My times are in your hand by Octavius Winslow
January 26 - daily devotionals
“My times are in your hand.” Psalm 31:15.
Let this precious truth divest your mind of all needless, anxious care for the present or the future. Exercising simple faith in God, “Do not be anxious about anything.” Learn to be content with your present lot, with God’s dealings with, and His disposal of, you.
You are just where His providence has, in its inscrutable but all-wise and righteous decision, placed you. It may be a position painful, irksome, trying, but it is right. Oh, yes! it is right. Only aim to glorify Him in it.
Wherever you are placed, God has a work for you to do, a purpose through you to be accomplished, in which He blends your happiness with His glory. And, when you have learned the lessons of His love, He will transfer you to another and a wider sphere, for whose nobler duties and higher responsibilities the present is, perhaps, but disciplining and preparing you.
Covet, then, to live a life of daily dependence upon God. Oh, it is a sweet and holy life! It saves from many a desponding feeling, from many a corroding care, from many an anxious thought, from many a sleepless night, from many a tearful eye, and from many an imprudent and sinful scheme.
Repairing to the “covenant ordered in all things and sure,” you may confide children, friends, calling, yourself, to the Lord’s care, in the fullest assurance that all their ‘times’ and yours are in His hand.
Prophetic Service
"The Rights of God" by T. Austin-Sparks
Reading: 1 Kings 18:17-21.
“And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people answered him not a word.”
In the previous chapters, we have seen the trouble to which the Lord goes to produce things the way He wants them to be. God needs such a testimony. His plan from eternity is connected to it. This plan cannot be achieved until God’s people have entered into His thought, until they stand experientially in everything that God has given them in Christ. That is, God wants to be ruling in the life of His people. His people should be the living realization of His thoughts. Only in this way does God have what He wishes to have. But if this were to happen, then firstly, everything has to be given to us by God; that which is in God has to have full and undivided importance in our life, so that that which came from God can return to Him.
If only we could grasp the thoughts of God better! There is such a lack of spiritual receptivity. This is because there is a lack of spiritual life; we can only understand the thoughts of God to the degree we walk in them. Where there is a lack of walking in the Spirit, there is also a lack of understanding of God’s thoughts.
How can we forget that we stand in a battle? Satan has tried from the start to bring other thoughts than the thoughts of God into this world, namely his own. As a result of their disobedience, humans beings became subject to this other spirit; man lost his ability to grasp God’s thoughts; the thoughts of the flesh took possession of him. Therefore we see from the beginning two directions of thoughts in battle with each other: the thoughts of God and the thoughts of the flesh. In regard to the latter we could also say: the thoughts of the devil.
You Are Part of His Treasure
By Theodore Epp
Ephesians 1: 16-18
From Ephesians 1:18 it is apparent that we are more than a mere inheritance of Christ. Paul emphasized the kind of inheritance we are to Christ in the words "riches of the glory of his inheritance." Believers are an inheritance of glorious riches to Christ.
This reveals to us what God considers to be of greatest value in the universe. It is not the planets or stars; it is people. God created the universe by His might and power, but He purchased mankind by His precious blood.
This universe will someday pass away, and God will create a new heaven and a new earth. But man, who has been redeemed by Christ, shall abide forever! This reveals how important believers are to God. No wonder God is going to display the exceeding riches of His grace through us in ages to come (2:7). This is why Jesus desires to present the Church "to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (5:27).
When we consider the marvelous truths of what God thinks of us as believers, it causes us to be filled with praise because of our wonderful Saviour. Although there are times when, humanly speaking, there is only despair, we are able to lift our eyes to Christ and know that He is working in us to accomplish that which will bring glory to Him. So it is important that we do not become discouraged with circumstances; these are the very tools that God uses to make us more like Christ.
"Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ" (Col. 3:24).
Tested in a Tight Spot
Read Psalm 7:1-9
This psalm was born out of a sad experience David had with Cush, a Benjamite (see I Sam. 24-26). Cush was one of Saul's spies. And because of what David did, Cush caused the deaths of innocent men.
Whenever David had a problem with persecution or with people, he would run to God. "O Lord my God, in You I put my trust; save me from all those who persecute me; and deliver me" (v. 1). David's enemies were pursuing him. But the first thing he did was examine his own heart. "O Lord my God, if I have done this: if there is iniquity in my hands" (v. 3). He was saying, "If I have sinned, then let the enemy persecute me."
When we are persecuted or experiencing problems, the first thing we should do is examine our own hearts--not examine the enemy or even examine God by saying, "God, why did You allow such a thing to happen?" When you find yourself in a tight spot, look in the mirror and say, "Father, is there something in my life You are talking to me about? Is there some area in my life where I am not as yielded as I ought to be?"
You may ask, "What about my enemies? Who's going to take care of them?" That was David's question. The answer is that God will take care of the enemy. The wickedness of others will come to an end. Our righteous God will accomplish His purposes, but notice the end of verse 9: "For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds." Times of trial are not only times of testimony and trusting; they are also times of testing. When God tests you, He is showing you your own heart. You may say, "I know my own heart." But you don't. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9).
God has a purpose for trials and testings. Do you find yourself in a tight spot today? Don't view this as something to endure. Rather, consider it an opportunity for growth. Use this time to examine your heart. Perhaps God wants to teach you something and develop an area of your life. Yield yourself to Him and trust Him to do a good work in you.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
UNQUESTIONED REVELATION by Oswald Chambers
"And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing." John 16:23
When is "that day"? When the Ascended Lord makes you one with the Father. In that day you will be one with the Father as Jesus is, and "in that day," Jesus says, "ye shall ask Me nothing."
Until the resurrection life of Jesus is manifested in you, you want to ask this and that; then after a while you find all questions gone, you do not seem to have any left to ask.
You have come to the place of entire reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus which brings you into perfect contact with the purpose of God. Are you living that life now? If not, why shouldn't you?
There may be any number of things dark to your understanding, but they do not come in between your heart and God. "And in that day ye shall ask Me no question" - you do not need to, you are so certain that God will bring things out in accordance with His will.
John 14:1 has become the real state of your heart, and there are no more questions to be asked.
If anything is a mystery to you and it is coming in between you and God, never look for the explanation in your intellect, look for it in your disposition, it is that which is wrong.
When once your disposition is willing to submit to the life of Jesus, the understanding will be perfectly clear, and you will get to the place where there is no distance between the Father and His child because the Lord has made you one, and "in that day ye shall ask Me no question."
link
No way! by William Secker
(William Secker, "The Consistent Christian")
There is one way to keep a man out of hell--
but there is no way to get a man out of hell.
"Then He will say to those on the left--Depart
from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!"
Matthew 25:41
"And they will go away into eternal punishment."
Matthew 25:46
link
There is one way to keep a man out of hell--
but there is no way to get a man out of hell.
"Then He will say to those on the left--Depart
from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!"
Matthew 25:41
"And they will go away into eternal punishment."
Matthew 25:46
link
Watch and pray - Philpot
"Watch and pray."--Mark 13:33
There is no keeping up FAITH except by prayer and watchfulness. As prayer declines in the bosom, so does the strength of faith. You may go on neglecting prayer and supplication until every grain of faith seems lost from your bosom, and may come at last to think you never knew anything of a work of God upon your heart, and have been deceived in believing there was any grace there.
By watchfulness also is the LOVE of God maintained. Unless you watch against your besetting sins, against the snares spread for your feet, against the temptations that daily and hourly beset your path, against being overcome by the strength or subtlety of your unwearied foe, you are sure to fall; and if you fall you will bring guilt and bondage, darkness and distress into your mind, and cut off for a time all friendly communion with God.
Therefore you must pray and watch; for without watchfulness, prayer is of little efficacy. And if we neglect the Scriptures, or read them carelessly or unbelievingly, they will do us little good. They must be read with believing eyes and heart, received as the revelation of God, and must be mixed with faith, or assuredly they will not profit us (Heb. 4:2).
The life of God is a very deep, secret, and sacred thing in the soul. God, it is true, will maintain it; he will not leave his work unaccomplished; but unless we read and pray, watch and meditate, wage war against besetting sins, and seek the Lord's face continually, we shall find the strength and power of faith very sensibly decline; and if so, there is no comfortable walking with God.
-JC Philpot
There is no keeping up FAITH except by prayer and watchfulness. As prayer declines in the bosom, so does the strength of faith. You may go on neglecting prayer and supplication until every grain of faith seems lost from your bosom, and may come at last to think you never knew anything of a work of God upon your heart, and have been deceived in believing there was any grace there.
By watchfulness also is the LOVE of God maintained. Unless you watch against your besetting sins, against the snares spread for your feet, against the temptations that daily and hourly beset your path, against being overcome by the strength or subtlety of your unwearied foe, you are sure to fall; and if you fall you will bring guilt and bondage, darkness and distress into your mind, and cut off for a time all friendly communion with God.
Therefore you must pray and watch; for without watchfulness, prayer is of little efficacy. And if we neglect the Scriptures, or read them carelessly or unbelievingly, they will do us little good. They must be read with believing eyes and heart, received as the revelation of God, and must be mixed with faith, or assuredly they will not profit us (Heb. 4:2).
The life of God is a very deep, secret, and sacred thing in the soul. God, it is true, will maintain it; he will not leave his work unaccomplished; but unless we read and pray, watch and meditate, wage war against besetting sins, and seek the Lord's face continually, we shall find the strength and power of faith very sensibly decline; and if so, there is no comfortable walking with God.
-JC Philpot
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him
By A.B. Simpson
There are secrets of providence which God's dear children may learn. His dealing with them often seems, to the outward eye, dark and terrible. Faith looks deeper and says, "This is God's secret. You look only on the outside; I can look deeper and see the hidden meaning.
"Sometimes diamonds are hidden in rough packages so their value cannot be seen. When the tabernacle was built in the wilderness there was nothing rich in its outside appearance. The costly things were all within, and its outward covering of rough badger skin gave no hint of the valuable things which it contained. God may send you some costly packages. Do not worry if they are concealed in rough wrappings.
You may be sure there are treasures of love and kindness and wisdom hidden within. Do not be so foolish as to throw away a silver spoon because it is tarnished. If we take what He sends, and trust Him for the goodness in it, even in the dark, we shall learn the meaning of the secrets of His providence.
Self-Flatterers
Solitude Sweetened
by James Meikle, 1730-1799
"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good." (Psalm 14:1)
The ungodly flatter themselves with false hopes—that all shall be well with them, "until their iniquity be found to be hateful" by the tremendous omniscient Judge in the decisive day.
The most heinous people flatter themselves, that they are not in so bad a state, and that they will safely arrive in heaven. True, salvation is offered to the chief of sinners. But then they must be saved from sin—but cannot be saved in sin; which is the error here. Some conceive such a notion of mercy as would destroy the other attributes; as if God should trample on his holiness, truth, and justice—to exalt his mercy in saving a sinner, or in pardoning sin without any atonement. But this is repugnant to what he himself has declared.
Others flatter themselves, that as God is just and merciful, he could never make so many rational creatures to be damned. Yet they refuse the one true and living way, which God has pointed out—by which they must be saved.
Others would gladly believe that God will never condemn them for committing some sins, which, say they, are implanted in their nature; and thus (O horrid blasphemy!) they make the Author of their being the author of sin! But God planted man at first wholly good, though he is now turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine.
Others, again there are, that through a pious education, common convictions, knowledge of the truth, and such like, are convinced that their present course of life is sinful and dangerous—but flatter themselves that all shall yet be well; for, when they are aged, and have wearied themselves out with sinning—they intend to amend their lives, repent and turn to God; and in this they promise themselves success, since God never refuses the penitent. Thus they set themselves above God, making themselves Lords of their own time, and promising themselves years to come; although they cannot boast of tomorrow.
Proverbs 3
1My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
2For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
8It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
9Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
11My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
12For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
13Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
14For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
15She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
16Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
17Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
19The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
20By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
21My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
22So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
23Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
24When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
25Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
26For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
27Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
28Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
29Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
30Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
31Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
32For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
33The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
34Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
35The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools
2For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
8It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
9Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
11My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
12For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
13Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
14For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
15She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
16Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
17Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
19The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
20By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
21My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
22So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
23Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
24When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
25Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
26For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
27Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
28Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
29Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
30Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
31Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
32For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
33The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
34Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
35The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools
Divine Compensations by John Dickie
THE minds of a few Christians being exercised about the subject of Divine Compensations on the afflictions through which the Lord's children are often called to pass, one of them wrote to the Author of the little book, "The Devil's Cradle," asking for an expression of his thoughts on the subject. His letter in reply was found to be so helpful that it is now printed in the hope that it may be a comfort to some, who may be passing through deep waters; and with the earnest prayer that God will graciously use it for the blessing of many readers.
"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour" (Isa 43:2-3).
I understand "compensation" to mean a something on the one side that goes to counter balance a corresponding something on the other. Your friend, I dare say, uses the term with reference to the outward circumstances of a man's lot in life, and to the double influence which each of these circumstances exerts on spiritual interests. The favorable circumstances (or what are counted such) are not altogether favorable, but have compensating drawbacks; while the unfavorable circumstances are not altogether unfavorable, but have compensating advantages. It is the part of wisdom then, to look at the entire set of circumstances amid which God has set us, as a perfectly adjusted whole, and to lie passive in His gracious hands, saying "amen" to His sovereign disposal of us.
In fact there are no circumstances in a Christian's lot that can rightly be spoken of as evil, for the lot, down to it's minutest details, is all arranged by God; and "as for God, His way is perfect" (Psa 18:30)—perfect in its wisdom as in its love. He has devised a wonderful plan in regard to each of us; and He is working it out daily, and hourly with persevering steadfastness. But we too, alas, allow ourselves to form plans about our own lives; and, as His plan and ours, about ourselves, are never the same, the working out of His plan is certain to cross ours at a thousand points. These points, where our plan is marred by His, we call evils: and this subject of "compensation" may be useful to us, if our meditation on it helps us to feel more deeply, that anything may be made an evil to us, if in self-will we seek to enjoy it, or employ it, apart from God, and for our own ends.
The circumstances of a man's life may be roughly grouped into two classes: the pleasant, and the unpleasant. The pleasant things in our lot we easily see to be mercies; and we are thankful for them. This is so far right, but these same pleasant things are also trials, and full of danger to us; and we have need, in enjoying them, to cry "Lead us not into temptation," for their helpfulness has a perilous "compensation" annexed to it.
Good health, for instance, and kind friends, and worldly comforts, are very pleasant; and they are God's good gifts. But how often, I had almost said, how invariably, are they more or less, misused. How many sinners do they keep lying, like besotted drunkards, asleep in the devil's arms! Aye, and how many Christians are feeble and languid, living and little more than living, because of their enjoyment of these mercies. The prodigal, in Luke 15, would never have sought his father had he found rest in the "far country." Israel would never have sought God in penitence if He had not planted thick hedges with sharp thorns between her and her former enjoyments (Hos 2:6,7). No one ever seeks God, except under the sore pressure of constraining need. It is for this end that affliction is sent. On the other hand, the natural effect of outward ease is godless worldliness—see Psalm 73 and note the word "therefore" in verse 6: "Therefore pride compassed about them as a chain; violence covers them as a garment."
On the other hand, outward trial is unpleasant; and it is not to be desired for its own sake. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Heb 12: 1 1). Thus its issues are, with God's blessing very precious, and this is its "compensation." It worketh the peaceable fruits of righteousness, and as the results of its precious efficacy stretch forward into eternity, it enriches the soul that is suitably exercised by it, infinitely beyond the calculation of angelic intellect. We are told, again, that our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (II Cor 4:17). (Note in this verse that the affliction is spoken of as actually working out the glory; so that the same degree of glory would not be reached apart from the affliction).
Without being made truly humble, no man shall ever be exalted. "For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 18:14). Humility is to be regarded as an indispensable pre-requisite for the everlasting glory. No man, unless he be "poor in spirit" can expect to inherit the eternal kingdom (Matt 5:3). Now there are two influences that are needed to work in a man this indispensable humility. He must be placed in circumstances which are more or less humiliating. There is a positive "need-be" for this; and therefore the Lord never omits this mode of treatment in the training of His best-beloved children (James 2:5; Heb 12:6-10; Rev 3:19). Affliction is merely another word for these humiliating circumstances. And besides these, the man needs, also, the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit on his heart, to render efficacious all these external instrumentalities. But the whole process is carried on in a love that is unutterable; and the issues aimed at are so glorious, that, even now, amid our sever- est trials, we should be able, not only to rejoice exceedingly, but to rejoice with a joy that is unspeakable, in the liveliest anticipation of the glorious outcome (I Peter 1:6-8,13).
"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour" (Isa 43:2-3).
I understand "compensation" to mean a something on the one side that goes to counter balance a corresponding something on the other. Your friend, I dare say, uses the term with reference to the outward circumstances of a man's lot in life, and to the double influence which each of these circumstances exerts on spiritual interests. The favorable circumstances (or what are counted such) are not altogether favorable, but have compensating drawbacks; while the unfavorable circumstances are not altogether unfavorable, but have compensating advantages. It is the part of wisdom then, to look at the entire set of circumstances amid which God has set us, as a perfectly adjusted whole, and to lie passive in His gracious hands, saying "amen" to His sovereign disposal of us.
In fact there are no circumstances in a Christian's lot that can rightly be spoken of as evil, for the lot, down to it's minutest details, is all arranged by God; and "as for God, His way is perfect" (Psa 18:30)—perfect in its wisdom as in its love. He has devised a wonderful plan in regard to each of us; and He is working it out daily, and hourly with persevering steadfastness. But we too, alas, allow ourselves to form plans about our own lives; and, as His plan and ours, about ourselves, are never the same, the working out of His plan is certain to cross ours at a thousand points. These points, where our plan is marred by His, we call evils: and this subject of "compensation" may be useful to us, if our meditation on it helps us to feel more deeply, that anything may be made an evil to us, if in self-will we seek to enjoy it, or employ it, apart from God, and for our own ends.
The circumstances of a man's life may be roughly grouped into two classes: the pleasant, and the unpleasant. The pleasant things in our lot we easily see to be mercies; and we are thankful for them. This is so far right, but these same pleasant things are also trials, and full of danger to us; and we have need, in enjoying them, to cry "Lead us not into temptation," for their helpfulness has a perilous "compensation" annexed to it.
Good health, for instance, and kind friends, and worldly comforts, are very pleasant; and they are God's good gifts. But how often, I had almost said, how invariably, are they more or less, misused. How many sinners do they keep lying, like besotted drunkards, asleep in the devil's arms! Aye, and how many Christians are feeble and languid, living and little more than living, because of their enjoyment of these mercies. The prodigal, in Luke 15, would never have sought his father had he found rest in the "far country." Israel would never have sought God in penitence if He had not planted thick hedges with sharp thorns between her and her former enjoyments (Hos 2:6,7). No one ever seeks God, except under the sore pressure of constraining need. It is for this end that affliction is sent. On the other hand, the natural effect of outward ease is godless worldliness—see Psalm 73 and note the word "therefore" in verse 6: "Therefore pride compassed about them as a chain; violence covers them as a garment."
On the other hand, outward trial is unpleasant; and it is not to be desired for its own sake. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Heb 12: 1 1). Thus its issues are, with God's blessing very precious, and this is its "compensation." It worketh the peaceable fruits of righteousness, and as the results of its precious efficacy stretch forward into eternity, it enriches the soul that is suitably exercised by it, infinitely beyond the calculation of angelic intellect. We are told, again, that our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (II Cor 4:17). (Note in this verse that the affliction is spoken of as actually working out the glory; so that the same degree of glory would not be reached apart from the affliction).
Without being made truly humble, no man shall ever be exalted. "For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 18:14). Humility is to be regarded as an indispensable pre-requisite for the everlasting glory. No man, unless he be "poor in spirit" can expect to inherit the eternal kingdom (Matt 5:3). Now there are two influences that are needed to work in a man this indispensable humility. He must be placed in circumstances which are more or less humiliating. There is a positive "need-be" for this; and therefore the Lord never omits this mode of treatment in the training of His best-beloved children (James 2:5; Heb 12:6-10; Rev 3:19). Affliction is merely another word for these humiliating circumstances. And besides these, the man needs, also, the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit on his heart, to render efficacious all these external instrumentalities. But the whole process is carried on in a love that is unutterable; and the issues aimed at are so glorious, that, even now, amid our sever- est trials, we should be able, not only to rejoice exceedingly, but to rejoice with a joy that is unspeakable, in the liveliest anticipation of the glorious outcome (I Peter 1:6-8,13).
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Work of God at the End-Time
The Work of God at the End-Time End-Time Principles Set Forth in Simeon Chapter 3 - The Nature of Service and the Marks of the Servant Chapter 4 - A Ministry of the Significance of Christ |
Satisfaction in God by Cotton Mather
Our continual apprehension of God, may produce our continual satisfaction in God, under all His dispensations. Whatever enjoyments are by God conferred upon us, where lies the relish, where the sweetness of them? Truly, we may come to relish our enjoyments, only so far as we have something of God in them. It was required in Psal. xxxvii. 4, "Delight thyself in the Lord." Yea, and what if we should have no delight but the Lord? Let us ponder with ourselves over our enjoyments: "In these enjoyments I see God, and by these enjoyments, I serve God!"
And now, let all our delight in, and all our value and fondness for our enjoyments, be only, or mainly, upon such a divine score as this. As far as any of our enjoyments lead us unto God, so far let us relish it, affect it, embrace it, and rejoyce in it: "O taste, and feed upon God in all;" and ask for nothing, no, not for life itself, any further than as it may help us, in our seeing and our serving of our God.
And then, whatever afflictions do lay fetters upon us, let us not only remember that we are concerned with God therein, but let our concernment with God procure a very profound submission in our souls. Be able to say with him in Psal. xxxix. 9, "I open not my mouth, because thou didst it." In all our afflictions, let us remark the justice of that God, before whom, "why should a living man complain for the punishment of his sin?"
The wisdom of that God, "whose judgments are right:" the goodness of that God, who "punishes us less than our iniquities do deserve." Let us behave ourselves, as having to do with none but God in our afflictions: And let our afflictions make us more conformable unto God: which conformity being effected, let us then say, "'Tis good for me that I have been afflicted."
Sirs, what were this, but a pitch of holiness, almost angelical! Oh! Mount up, as with the wings of eagles, of angels: be not a sorry, puny, mechanick sort of Christians any longer; but reach forth unto these things that are thus before you.
link
And now, let all our delight in, and all our value and fondness for our enjoyments, be only, or mainly, upon such a divine score as this. As far as any of our enjoyments lead us unto God, so far let us relish it, affect it, embrace it, and rejoyce in it: "O taste, and feed upon God in all;" and ask for nothing, no, not for life itself, any further than as it may help us, in our seeing and our serving of our God.
And then, whatever afflictions do lay fetters upon us, let us not only remember that we are concerned with God therein, but let our concernment with God procure a very profound submission in our souls. Be able to say with him in Psal. xxxix. 9, "I open not my mouth, because thou didst it." In all our afflictions, let us remark the justice of that God, before whom, "why should a living man complain for the punishment of his sin?"
The wisdom of that God, "whose judgments are right:" the goodness of that God, who "punishes us less than our iniquities do deserve." Let us behave ourselves, as having to do with none but God in our afflictions: And let our afflictions make us more conformable unto God: which conformity being effected, let us then say, "'Tis good for me that I have been afflicted."
Sirs, what were this, but a pitch of holiness, almost angelical! Oh! Mount up, as with the wings of eagles, of angels: be not a sorry, puny, mechanick sort of Christians any longer; but reach forth unto these things that are thus before you.
link
Mystic and Prophet
by James L. Snyder
"Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and I were discussing the mystics over dinner one evening and he related an interesting experience. With his permission I repeat it here.
"'Dr. Tozer and I shared a conference years ago,' he said, 'and I appreciated his ministry and his fellowship very much. One day he said to me, "Lloyd-Jones, you and I hold just about the same position on spiritual matters, but we have come to this position by different routes." '
"'How do you mean?' I asked.
"'Well,' Tozer replied, 'you came by way of the Puritans and I came by way of the mystics.' And, you know, he was right!"
Warren W. Wiersbe
Walking With The Giants
TOZER'S PASSION FOR GOD LED HIM to the Christian mystics. In his day their writings were not popular, even among the clergy. But Tozer discovered that these great souls, however flawed their theology, were uncontrollably in love with God. His own pursuit of God put him in their debt.
The writings of these Christian mystics Tozer wove like threads of silver and gold into the fabric of his discourses. He cited them, paraphrased them, imitated them. He breathed their spirit, he relied upon their support. "These people," he would say, "know God, and I want to know what they know about God and how they came to know it." He so identified with the struggles and triumphs of certain devotional writers that many people referred to him, also, as a mystic-a label to which he never objected.
Utter devotion to God
Tozer's list of these "friends of God" grew with the years. Nothing delighted him more than to discover some long forgotten devotional writer, and he was always eager to introduce these discoveries to others. His admiration for their writings was not an endorsement of everything they did or taught, he was careful to point out. It was their utter devotion to God and their ability to share their spiritual insights that he valued.
Once in a sermon, Tozer referred to Lady Julian of Norwich as his girlfriend. The statement raised many eyebrows. "I think," Tozer explained, "that anyone who has been dead for more than 500 years is safe to be called a girlfriend." He discovered in her writings an attitude and passion for God that corresponded with his own spiritual quest.
"The word mystic," Tozer explains in his introduction to The Christian Book of Mystical Verse, "refers to that personal spiritual experience common to the saints of Bible times and well known to multitudes of people in the postbiblical era. I refer to the evangelical mystic who has been brought by the gospel into intimate fellowship with the Godhead. His theology is no less and no more than is taught in the Christian Scriptures. He walks the high road of truth where walked of old prophets and apostles, and where down the centuries walked martyrs, reformers, Puritans, evangelists and missionaries of the cross.
"[The mystic] differs from the ordinary orthodox Christian only because he experiences his faith down in the depths of his sentient being while the other does not. He exists in a world of spiritual reality. He is quietly, deeply and sometimes almost ecstatically aware of the presence of God in his own nature and in the world around him. His religious experience is something elemental, as old as time and the creation. It is immediate acquaintance with God by union with the Eternal Son. It is knowing that which passes knowledge."
The word mystic did not scare Tozer. The term mysticism simply means "the practice of the presence of God," the belief that the heart can commune with God directly, moment by moment, without the aid of outward ritual. He saw this belief at the very core of real Christianity, the sweetest and most soul-satisfying experience a child of God can know.
Tozer was an enthusiastic admirer of Francois de Salignac de la Mothe Fenelon, the seventeenth-century French saint whose eloquent sermons contributed greatly to the spiritual education of his contemporaries and whose generosity did much to mitigate the sufferings caused by the war of the Spanish-French Succession.
Fenelon was a man who knew God, who lived in Him as a bird lives in the air. Providentially, he was endowed with the ability to lead others into the same kind of life. In Fenelon there was no trace of the morbidity that has marked some of the men and women who have be known as mystics.
"Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and I were discussing the mystics over dinner one evening and he related an interesting experience. With his permission I repeat it here.
"'Dr. Tozer and I shared a conference years ago,' he said, 'and I appreciated his ministry and his fellowship very much. One day he said to me, "Lloyd-Jones, you and I hold just about the same position on spiritual matters, but we have come to this position by different routes." '
"'How do you mean?' I asked.
"'Well,' Tozer replied, 'you came by way of the Puritans and I came by way of the mystics.' And, you know, he was right!"
Warren W. Wiersbe
Walking With The Giants
TOZER'S PASSION FOR GOD LED HIM to the Christian mystics. In his day their writings were not popular, even among the clergy. But Tozer discovered that these great souls, however flawed their theology, were uncontrollably in love with God. His own pursuit of God put him in their debt.
The writings of these Christian mystics Tozer wove like threads of silver and gold into the fabric of his discourses. He cited them, paraphrased them, imitated them. He breathed their spirit, he relied upon their support. "These people," he would say, "know God, and I want to know what they know about God and how they came to know it." He so identified with the struggles and triumphs of certain devotional writers that many people referred to him, also, as a mystic-a label to which he never objected.
Utter devotion to God
Tozer's list of these "friends of God" grew with the years. Nothing delighted him more than to discover some long forgotten devotional writer, and he was always eager to introduce these discoveries to others. His admiration for their writings was not an endorsement of everything they did or taught, he was careful to point out. It was their utter devotion to God and their ability to share their spiritual insights that he valued.
Once in a sermon, Tozer referred to Lady Julian of Norwich as his girlfriend. The statement raised many eyebrows. "I think," Tozer explained, "that anyone who has been dead for more than 500 years is safe to be called a girlfriend." He discovered in her writings an attitude and passion for God that corresponded with his own spiritual quest.
"The word mystic," Tozer explains in his introduction to The Christian Book of Mystical Verse, "refers to that personal spiritual experience common to the saints of Bible times and well known to multitudes of people in the postbiblical era. I refer to the evangelical mystic who has been brought by the gospel into intimate fellowship with the Godhead. His theology is no less and no more than is taught in the Christian Scriptures. He walks the high road of truth where walked of old prophets and apostles, and where down the centuries walked martyrs, reformers, Puritans, evangelists and missionaries of the cross.
"[The mystic] differs from the ordinary orthodox Christian only because he experiences his faith down in the depths of his sentient being while the other does not. He exists in a world of spiritual reality. He is quietly, deeply and sometimes almost ecstatically aware of the presence of God in his own nature and in the world around him. His religious experience is something elemental, as old as time and the creation. It is immediate acquaintance with God by union with the Eternal Son. It is knowing that which passes knowledge."
The word mystic did not scare Tozer. The term mysticism simply means "the practice of the presence of God," the belief that the heart can commune with God directly, moment by moment, without the aid of outward ritual. He saw this belief at the very core of real Christianity, the sweetest and most soul-satisfying experience a child of God can know.
Tozer was an enthusiastic admirer of Francois de Salignac de la Mothe Fenelon, the seventeenth-century French saint whose eloquent sermons contributed greatly to the spiritual education of his contemporaries and whose generosity did much to mitigate the sufferings caused by the war of the Spanish-French Succession.
Fenelon was a man who knew God, who lived in Him as a bird lives in the air. Providentially, he was endowed with the ability to lead others into the same kind of life. In Fenelon there was no trace of the morbidity that has marked some of the men and women who have be known as mystics.
Flesh-pleasing pulpit opiates!-J. A. James
(J. A. James, "Dislike to Ministerial Faithfulness Stated and Explained")
They are a rebellious people, deceptive children, children who do
not obey the Lord's instruction. They say to the seers, "Do not
see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy the truth to us. Tell
us flattering things! Prophesy illusions! Get out of the way!
Leave the pathway. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel." Is. 30:9-11
It is a striking fact, that He who was love incarnate; who was
mercy's messenger to our lost world; who was named Jesus,
because He was to be the Savior of His people; who was the
manifestation of God's love to man—delivered, during the
course of His personal ministry, more fearful descriptions of
Divine justice and the punishment of the wicked, than are to be
found in any other part of the Word of God! What can exceed
the solemn scene of the parable of the rich man in torments?
Hell and destruction are there set openly before us.
No man can fulfill his ministry, therefore, without frequently
alluding to the justice of God in the punishment of sin.
He must seek to alarm the fears of the unconverted by a
representation of the consequences that will follow a state
of final impenitence.
They are a rebellious people, deceptive children, children who do
not obey the Lord's instruction. They say to the seers, "Do not
see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy the truth to us. Tell
us flattering things! Prophesy illusions! Get out of the way!
Leave the pathway. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel." Is. 30:9-11
It is a striking fact, that He who was love incarnate; who was
mercy's messenger to our lost world; who was named Jesus,
because He was to be the Savior of His people; who was the
manifestation of God's love to man—delivered, during the
course of His personal ministry, more fearful descriptions of
Divine justice and the punishment of the wicked, than are to be
found in any other part of the Word of God! What can exceed
the solemn scene of the parable of the rich man in torments?
Hell and destruction are there set openly before us.
No man can fulfill his ministry, therefore, without frequently
alluding to the justice of God in the punishment of sin.
He must seek to alarm the fears of the unconverted by a
representation of the consequences that will follow a state
of final impenitence.
A new impulse? A nobler bent? - Hannah More
(Hannah More, "Christianity an Internal Principle")
The Holy Spirit operates on the human character
to produce a new heart and a new life. By this
operation the affections and faculties of the man
receive a new impulse....
his dark understanding is illuminated,
his rebellious will is subdued,
his irregular desires are rectified;
his judgment is informed,
his imagination is chastised,
his inclinations are sanctified;
his hopes and fears are directed to
their true and adequate end.
Heaven becomes the object of his hopes, and
eternal separation from God the object of his fears.
His love of the world is transformed into the love of God.
The lower faculties are pressed into the new service.
The senses have a higher direction.
The whole internal frame and constitution receive a nobler bent....
the intents and purposes of the mind, a sublimer aim;
his aspirations, a loftier flight;
his vacillating desires find a fixed object;
his vagrant purposes a settled home;
his disappointed heart a certain refuge.
That heart, no longer the worshiper of the
world, is struggling to become its conqueror.
LINK
The Holy Spirit operates on the human character
to produce a new heart and a new life. By this
operation the affections and faculties of the man
receive a new impulse....
his dark understanding is illuminated,
his rebellious will is subdued,
his irregular desires are rectified;
his judgment is informed,
his imagination is chastised,
his inclinations are sanctified;
his hopes and fears are directed to
their true and adequate end.
Heaven becomes the object of his hopes, and
eternal separation from God the object of his fears.
His love of the world is transformed into the love of God.
The lower faculties are pressed into the new service.
The senses have a higher direction.
The whole internal frame and constitution receive a nobler bent....
the intents and purposes of the mind, a sublimer aim;
his aspirations, a loftier flight;
his vacillating desires find a fixed object;
his vagrant purposes a settled home;
his disappointed heart a certain refuge.
That heart, no longer the worshiper of the
world, is struggling to become its conqueror.
LINK
"SEEK YE OUT OF THE BOOK OF THE LORD, AND READ," Boston
SEVERAL THINGS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE
PRE-SUPPOSED IN THESE WORDS,
ISAIAH 34:16. "SEEK YE OUT OF
THE BOOK OF THE LORD, AND READ,"
1. That man has lost his way, and needs direction to find it, Psal.119:176. "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant." Miserable man is bemisted in a vain world, which is a dark place, and has as much need of the scriptures to direct him, as one has of a light in dark, 2 Peter 1:9. What a miserable case is that part of the world in that wants the Bible? They are vain in their imaginations, and grope in the dark, but cannot find the way of salvation. In no better case are those to whom it has not come in power.
2. That man is in hazard of being led farther and farther wrong. This made the spouse say, "Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?" There is a subtle devil, a wicked world, corrupt lusts within one's own breast, to lead him out of the right way, that we had need to give over, and take this guide. There are many false lights in the world, which, if followed, will lead the traveller into a mire, and leave him there.
3. That men are slow of heart to understand the mind of God in his word. It will cost searching diligently ere we can take it up, John 5:39. "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." Our eyes are dim to the things of God, our apprehensions dull, and our judgment is weak. And therefore, because the iron is blunt, we must put too the more strength. We lost the sharpness of our sight in spiritual things in Adam; and our corrupt wills and carnal affections, that favour not the things of God, do more blind our judgments: and therefore it is a labour to us to find out what is necessary for our salvation.
4. That the book of the Lord has its difficulties, which are not to be easily solved. Therefore the Psalmist prays, "Open thou mine eyes. that I may see wondrous things out of thy law," Psal.119:18. Philip asked the eunuch, "Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?" There are depths there wherein an elephant may swim, and will exercise the largest capacities, with all the advantages they may be possessed of. God in his holy providence has so ordered it, to stain the pride of all glory; to make his word the liker himself, whom none can search out to perfection, and to sharpen the diligence of his people in their inquiries into it.
5. That yet we need highly to understand it, otherwise we would not be bidden search into it. "Of the times and seasons," says the apostle,. "ye have no need that I write unto you;" and therefore he wrote not of them. There is a treasure in this field; we are called to dig for it; for though it be hid, yet we must have it, or we will pine away in our spiritual poverty.
6. That we may gain from it by diligent inquiry. The holy humble heart will not be always sent empty away from these wells of salvation, when it plies itself to draw. There are shallow places in these waters of the sanctuary. where lambs may wade.
link
PRE-SUPPOSED IN THESE WORDS,
ISAIAH 34:16. "SEEK YE OUT OF
THE BOOK OF THE LORD, AND READ,"
1. That man has lost his way, and needs direction to find it, Psal.119:176. "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant." Miserable man is bemisted in a vain world, which is a dark place, and has as much need of the scriptures to direct him, as one has of a light in dark, 2 Peter 1:9. What a miserable case is that part of the world in that wants the Bible? They are vain in their imaginations, and grope in the dark, but cannot find the way of salvation. In no better case are those to whom it has not come in power.
2. That man is in hazard of being led farther and farther wrong. This made the spouse say, "Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?" There is a subtle devil, a wicked world, corrupt lusts within one's own breast, to lead him out of the right way, that we had need to give over, and take this guide. There are many false lights in the world, which, if followed, will lead the traveller into a mire, and leave him there.
3. That men are slow of heart to understand the mind of God in his word. It will cost searching diligently ere we can take it up, John 5:39. "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." Our eyes are dim to the things of God, our apprehensions dull, and our judgment is weak. And therefore, because the iron is blunt, we must put too the more strength. We lost the sharpness of our sight in spiritual things in Adam; and our corrupt wills and carnal affections, that favour not the things of God, do more blind our judgments: and therefore it is a labour to us to find out what is necessary for our salvation.
4. That the book of the Lord has its difficulties, which are not to be easily solved. Therefore the Psalmist prays, "Open thou mine eyes. that I may see wondrous things out of thy law," Psal.119:18. Philip asked the eunuch, "Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?" There are depths there wherein an elephant may swim, and will exercise the largest capacities, with all the advantages they may be possessed of. God in his holy providence has so ordered it, to stain the pride of all glory; to make his word the liker himself, whom none can search out to perfection, and to sharpen the diligence of his people in their inquiries into it.
5. That yet we need highly to understand it, otherwise we would not be bidden search into it. "Of the times and seasons," says the apostle,. "ye have no need that I write unto you;" and therefore he wrote not of them. There is a treasure in this field; we are called to dig for it; for though it be hid, yet we must have it, or we will pine away in our spiritual poverty.
6. That we may gain from it by diligent inquiry. The holy humble heart will not be always sent empty away from these wells of salvation, when it plies itself to draw. There are shallow places in these waters of the sanctuary. where lambs may wade.
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Sunday, January 23, 2011
HE THAT GOETH FORTH WITH WEEPING
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Words: Thomas Hastings, 1836 He that goeth forth with weeping, Bearing precious seed in love, Never tiring, never sleeping, Findeth mercy from above. Soft descend the dews of heaven, Bright the rays celestial shine; Precious fruits will thus be given Through an influence all divine. Sow thy seed; be never weary; Let no fears thy soul annoy; Be the prospect ne’er so dreary, Thou shalt reap the fruits of joy. Lo! the scene of verdure brightening, See the rising grain appear: Look again; the fields are whitening, For the harvest time is near. |
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A Disturbing Message
by Duncan Campbell
“This is what our age needs, not an easy-moving message, the sort of thing that makes the hearer feel all nice inside, but a message profoundly disturbing. We have been far too afraid of disturbing people, but the Holy Spirit will have nothing to do with a message or with a minister who is afraid of disturbing.
You might as well expect a surgeon to give place to a quack who claims to be able to do the job with some sweet tasting drug, as expect the Holy Spirit to agree that the tragic plight of human souls today can be met by soft and easy words.
Calvary was anything but nice to look at, blood-soaked beams of wood, a bruised and bleeding body, not nice to look upon. But then Jesus was not dealing with a nice thing; He was dealing with the sin of the world, and that is what we are called upon to deal with today. Soft and easy words, soft-pedaling will never meet the need.”
The Voice of Jonah
The Voices of the Prophets
"They knew not... the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath" (Acts 13:27).
Very little more and other is commonly known about Jonah, and the mention of his name usually brings little other than: 'Oh, yes, Jonah was swallowed by a whale!'
The fact is that Jonah was a great Prophet in Israel, contemporary with the close of Elisha's ministry (2 Kings 14:25). It will perhaps surprise our readers to know that in the middle of the nineteenth century a saintly and scholarly servant of God in Scotland wrote a book on the ministry of Jonah which runs into no fewer than 359 pages.
We shall see later that the Lord Jesus Himself concentrated His testimony to Israel with two references to Jonah. In this series of messages, as you have recognized, we are not dealing with the life and times of each Prophet in question, but only seeking to put our finger upon what we believe to be the particular 'Voice' of each; it is a matter of what is resultant from the passing on of the Prophet. The Prophet passes by, but his 'Voice' remains! The voice of Jonah is very challenging, and Jesus hung the destiny of Israel as a nation upon that voice. What then does this voice say at all times, and to our time essentially?
1. Firstly we must take note of a certain uniqueness about Jonah and his mission.
It was not something new in the eternal thought of God, but in the days of Jonah the specific call and commission of that Prophet was something new. So new and unusual was it that it startled both Jonah and Israel. In a way it was unheard of; certainly it was foreign to the ideas of the nation. It was a break-in, an innovation, a strange thing, a departure from tradition. While God did not plan or purpose the disobedience and breakdown of Jonah, in His foreknowledge and sovereignty He ordered that it should form the very setting and basis of a miracle which would give the message and a commission a thousand times more significance than it otherwise would have held. So deep and far-seeing are the ways of God! God just rode roughshod over all the set and fixed ideas of His own people; over all their notions and settled ways. It was a new thing in Israel, and that was a part - only a part, but a strong part - of Jonah's dilemma and difficulty.
Therein is the first note in his 'Voice'. The whole battle with Judaism in New Testament times, and, as indicated by our basic phrase (Acts 13:27), very largely, if not entirely, raged around this very fact. Stephen was murdered very largely because of this question. It is
The Serious Peril of Prejudice
If the writer may give his own testimony, for what it is worth, on this point, he has to say that a very big turning-point in his life and ministry, from limitation to great enlargement; was reached at a certain time. One Lord's Day morning I preached on prejudice. Didn't I slaughter prejudice! I called it by all the evil names that I could lay my tongue to. I called it 'the closed, slammed and barred door against God and man'. Very well! During the following week I received an invitation to a certain conference with all expenses paid. I had said long before that I would never have anything to do with what that conference stood for; indeed, I would never touch it at a distance. Well, this very kind and generous invitation came, and all my prejudice at once looked for a reason to refuse. I was a very busy man and my diary was very full of engagements for months ahead. So that was the first resort, and I did not think that my diary would let me down for a good excuse. But to my consternation the only week without appointments for a long time was the week of that conference! Was there any other honest excuse for refusing. I could not find one anywhere or anyhow.
As I sat there with my problem, it was as though a voice said: 'Now, what about your sermon on prejudice? You have only two courses open to you: either to say that you will not go, or to go; and if you say that you will not, it will be because of your prejudice!' It was a battle, but the Lord, and a bit of honesty, won. I went, and although full of reservations and questions, as I have said, it was a life-crisis which resulted in a new release of the Lord. Forgive the personal reference, but it may serve to give point to the message.
Prejudice can be a thief and a robber. It can be absolutely disastrous, as in the case of Israel. Said Nathanael: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" That was the most critical point in his whole life, and had he not been an honest man, 'an Israelite indeed in whom was no guile' (Jacob), all that was subsequently said of him would have been lost (John 21:2 and if, as is believed, he was identical with Bartholomew, Acts 1:4,12,13). How it becomes us to analyse our prejudices, to see if they are prejudices or true. Remember, Jesus Himself was involved in common prejudices, strongly supported and 'documented' by the best authorities, people would say; but history gives the answer.
2. Prejudice, as in the case of Jonah, meant an unwillingness to break with the set ways of Israel. God's dealings with Jonah, and Jonah's voice among the Prophets is the
Divine Thunder Against Exclusivism
3. So we come at last to that full and final voice of Jonah:
"A Greater Than Jonah is Here"
(Matthew 12:41)
This is the voice of the Prophet Jonah, but it needs more than 359 pages to exhaust it!
Blow upon my garden
(John MacDuff, "Communion Memories")
"Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow. Let my
Beloved come to His garden, and eat its choicest
fruits." Song of Solomon 4:16
Come! Blessed Spirit, in all the plenitude of Your
gifts and graces!
Come, as the north wind bringing with it conviction
of sin--my own sin--seen in the light of my Savior's
Cross and sufferings.
Come, as the south wind--with all soothing, comforting,
sanctifying influences--bearing on its wings the Beloved's
own balm-words of mercy--revealing the wonders of His
love--the tenderness of His sympathy--the riches of His
grace.
Let the spices--the fragrance of a grateful heart filled
with all joy and peace in believing--flow out.
"Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow. Let my
Beloved come to His garden, and eat its choicest
fruits." Song of Solomon 4:16
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"Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow. Let my
Beloved come to His garden, and eat its choicest
fruits." Song of Solomon 4:16
Come! Blessed Spirit, in all the plenitude of Your
gifts and graces!
Come, as the north wind bringing with it conviction
of sin--my own sin--seen in the light of my Savior's
Cross and sufferings.
Come, as the south wind--with all soothing, comforting,
sanctifying influences--bearing on its wings the Beloved's
own balm-words of mercy--revealing the wonders of His
love--the tenderness of His sympathy--the riches of His
grace.
Let the spices--the fragrance of a grateful heart filled
with all joy and peace in believing--flow out.
"Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow. Let my
Beloved come to His garden, and eat its choicest
fruits." Song of Solomon 4:16
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The only effectual reformer of the world
(Samuel Davies, "Serious Reflections on WAR" 1757)
"When He comes—He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment!" John 16:8
The Holy Spirit is the only effectual reformer of the world! If He is absent—
legislators may make laws against crime;
philosophers may reason against vice;
ministers may preach against sin;
conscience may remonstrate against evil;
the divine law may prescribe, and threaten hell;
the gospel may invite and allure to heaven;
but all will be in vain!
The strongest arguments, the most melting entreaties, the most alarming denunciations from God and man, enforced with the highest authority, or the most compassionate tears—all will have no effect—all will not effectually reclaim one sinner, nor gain one sincere convert to righteousness!
Paul, Apollos, and Peter, with all their apostolic abilities, can do nothing, without the Holy Spirit. Paul may plant the seed—and Apollos may water it; but God alone can make it grow! "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything—but only God, who makes things grow!" 1 Corinthians 3:6, 7.
Never will peace and harmony be established in this jangling world—until this Divine Agent takes the work in hand.
It is He alone—who can melt down the obstinate hearts of men into love and peace!
It is He alone—who can soften their rugged and savage tempers, and transform them into mutual benevolence!
"When He comes—He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment!" John 16:8
The Holy Spirit is the only effectual reformer of the world! If He is absent—
legislators may make laws against crime;
philosophers may reason against vice;
ministers may preach against sin;
conscience may remonstrate against evil;
the divine law may prescribe, and threaten hell;
the gospel may invite and allure to heaven;
but all will be in vain!
The strongest arguments, the most melting entreaties, the most alarming denunciations from God and man, enforced with the highest authority, or the most compassionate tears—all will have no effect—all will not effectually reclaim one sinner, nor gain one sincere convert to righteousness!
Paul, Apollos, and Peter, with all their apostolic abilities, can do nothing, without the Holy Spirit. Paul may plant the seed—and Apollos may water it; but God alone can make it grow! "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything—but only God, who makes things grow!" 1 Corinthians 3:6, 7.
Never will peace and harmony be established in this jangling world—until this Divine Agent takes the work in hand.
It is He alone—who can melt down the obstinate hearts of men into love and peace!
It is He alone—who can soften their rugged and savage tempers, and transform them into mutual benevolence!
Building air-castle upon air-castle!
(John MacDuff, "Thoughts for the Quiet Hour", 1895)
He who goes about whining all day long about some
imaginary drawbacks in the sphere which Providence
has assigned him--when all the while he is situated
so much better than thousands around--is a suicide
of his own happiness! He is also impeaching the
faithfulness of the Supreme Ordainer and Disposer.
One half of life's enjoyment is eaten out by this sinful
craving after what cannot be obtained--the desire for
something supposed to be better. Yes, but when "the
better" is reached, there is the yearning for an imagined
"better" still. This is building air-castle upon air-castle!
If in these days there be one household demon more
than another which needs to be exorcized--it is the
demon of discontent!
Oh, for the spirit of Paul--poor and lonely prisoner in
Rome as he was--an apparent bankrupt in all that the
world deems wealth and affluence--yet who could make
this entry in his letter to his Philippian friends--"I have
learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
At the moment I have all I need--more than I need!"
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He who goes about whining all day long about some
imaginary drawbacks in the sphere which Providence
has assigned him--when all the while he is situated
so much better than thousands around--is a suicide
of his own happiness! He is also impeaching the
faithfulness of the Supreme Ordainer and Disposer.
One half of life's enjoyment is eaten out by this sinful
craving after what cannot be obtained--the desire for
something supposed to be better. Yes, but when "the
better" is reached, there is the yearning for an imagined
"better" still. This is building air-castle upon air-castle!
If in these days there be one household demon more
than another which needs to be exorcized--it is the
demon of discontent!
Oh, for the spirit of Paul--poor and lonely prisoner in
Rome as he was--an apparent bankrupt in all that the
world deems wealth and affluence--yet who could make
this entry in his letter to his Philippian friends--"I have
learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
At the moment I have all I need--more than I need!"
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Saturday, January 22, 2011
I WAS ALIVE WITHOUT THE LAW ONCE...
JOSEPH CHARLES PHILPOT (1802-1869)"I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died."- Rom 7:9
The Apostle describes in his own case how men are affected toward the law before it enters as a condemning sentence into their heart. "I was alive without the law once." The law was hanging over him as a condemning sentence, as a minister of death, as a messenger of wrath, as a consuming fire, but he felt it not.
As with a thunderstorm in the remote distance, he might hear the low mutterings of the thunder which once rolled over Sinai’s fiery mount, or might see from far the play of those lightnings which scorched its top.
But at present the storm was in the distance. He went about without thinking, or feeling, or fearing, or caring whether the law was his friend or enemy. In fact he rather viewed it as his friend, for he was using it as a friendly help to build up his own righteousness. He had gone to it, but it had not come to him; he knew its letter, but not its spirit; its outward commands, but not its inward demands.
He therefore speaks of himself as being "alive without the law," that is, without any knowledge of what it was as a ministration of condemnation and death.
But in God’s own appointed time and way, "the commandment came;" that is, it came with power into his conscience. He found that he could keep every one of the commandments but the tenth; for according to his apprehension and his interpretation of them, they did not extend beyond an external obedience. But the tenth commandment, "Thou shalt not covet," struck into the very depth of his conscience, for it was a prohibition from the mouth of God of the inward lusts of the heart, and that prohibition attended with an awful curse.
Under this stroke sin, which before lay seemingly dead in his breast, revived like a sleeping serpent; and what was the consequence? It stung him to death, for he says, "And I died;" for the commandment which was ordained unto life he found to be unto death! Sin could not brook to be thwarted or opposed; it therefore rose up in enmity against God, took advantage of the commandment to rebel against the authority of Jehovah, and its guilt in consequence falling upon his conscience, made tender in the fear of God, slew him.
It would not have done so had there been no life in his soul; but there being light to see and life to feel the anger of God revealed in the commandment, when the law came into his conscience as a sentence from a just and holy Jehovah, the effect was to produce a sentence of death in himself.
And this experience which the Apostle describes as his own is what the law does and ever must do when applied to the conscience by the power of God.
It kills, it slays the condemned sinner; it is a sentence of death in a man’s own conscience, which only awaits the hour of death and the day of judgment to be carried into execution.
When Satan has sucked out all the marrow
(Thomas Brooks, "Apples of Gold" 1660)
God usually begins with such early in life--whom He has
had thoughts of love and mercy towards, from everlasting.
If, in the spring and morning of your days, you do not bring
forth fruit to God--it is a hundred to one that you never shall
bring forth fruit to God when the days of old age shall overtake
you. It is rare, very rare--that God sows and reaps in old age.
Usually God sows the seed of grace in youth--which yields
the harvest of joy in old age.
Though true repentance is never too late--yet late
repentance is seldom true. Millions are now in hell, who
have flattered themselves with the thought of repenting
in old age! Yes, what can be more just and equal, that such
should seek and not find--who might have found when young,
but would not seek; and that God should shut His ears against
their late prayers--who have stopped their ears against His
early calls?
The ancient warriors would not accept an old man into their
army, as being unfit for service; and do you think that God
will accept of your dry bones--when Satan has sucked
out all the marrow? What king will take into his service
--those who have served his enemies all their days? And
will God? will God?
The Circassians, a kind of mongrel Christians, are said to
divide their life between sin and devotion--dedicating their
youth to rapine, and their old age to repentance. If this is
your case, I would not be in your case for ten thousand worlds!
"But since you rejected Me when I called, and no one gave
heed when I stretched out My hand, since you ignored all
My advice and would not accept My rebuke--I in turn will
laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes
you--when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster
sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble
overwhelm you. Then they will call to Me but I will not answer;
they will look for Me but will not find Me. Since they hated
knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they
would not accept My advice and spurned My rebuke--they
will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit
of their schemes." Proverbs 1:24-31
LINK
God usually begins with such early in life--whom He has
had thoughts of love and mercy towards, from everlasting.
If, in the spring and morning of your days, you do not bring
forth fruit to God--it is a hundred to one that you never shall
bring forth fruit to God when the days of old age shall overtake
you. It is rare, very rare--that God sows and reaps in old age.
Usually God sows the seed of grace in youth--which yields
the harvest of joy in old age.
Though true repentance is never too late--yet late
repentance is seldom true. Millions are now in hell, who
have flattered themselves with the thought of repenting
in old age! Yes, what can be more just and equal, that such
should seek and not find--who might have found when young,
but would not seek; and that God should shut His ears against
their late prayers--who have stopped their ears against His
early calls?
The ancient warriors would not accept an old man into their
army, as being unfit for service; and do you think that God
will accept of your dry bones--when Satan has sucked
out all the marrow? What king will take into his service
--those who have served his enemies all their days? And
will God? will God?
The Circassians, a kind of mongrel Christians, are said to
divide their life between sin and devotion--dedicating their
youth to rapine, and their old age to repentance. If this is
your case, I would not be in your case for ten thousand worlds!
"But since you rejected Me when I called, and no one gave
heed when I stretched out My hand, since you ignored all
My advice and would not accept My rebuke--I in turn will
laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes
you--when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster
sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble
overwhelm you. Then they will call to Me but I will not answer;
they will look for Me but will not find Me. Since they hated
knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they
would not accept My advice and spurned My rebuke--they
will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit
of their schemes." Proverbs 1:24-31
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