THE GENTLENESS OF GOD

WORDS OF DIVINE COMFORT by Octavius Winslow, 1872 "I will do you no hurt."--Jer. 25:6 What a tender, touching declaration of God is this! How condescending and considerate of His people's feelings! Would God, could God hurt a hair of the head of His child, severe and painful though His dealings maybe? Oh, no! They may be called to leave their father's house, as was Jacob--they may go down into Egypt, as did Israel--they may be tried in their children, as was Eli--they may be bereft of property and children and health, as was Job--they may be cast into the lions' den, as was Daniel--and into the fiery furnace, as were the Hebrew children--they may have a thorn in the flesh, as did Paul--they may be banished, as was John--yet God will do them no hurt! Nevertheless, His dealings with His beloved saints and servants of old, were but among the all things that worked together for their good. It was a mysterious; and to them a trying and afflictive way. Nevertheless, He was but unfolding His purposes of wisdom, His thoughts of peace and His ends of love. Consider this, my soul, whatever God's way with you is, He will do you no hurt. And first, there is the utter impossibility that God could hurt one of the children of His love. His nature is love--His heart is love--all His attributes are manifestations of His love--all His dealings but unfoldings of His love. Listen to David's representation of God, "You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth."  Can not you, my soul, affix your seal to this testimony? What has your God been to you through these many long years of your pilgrimage but a God who could do you no hurt? Oh, no! He loves you too deeply, cares for you too tenderly, watches over you too vigilantly--you are too dear to Him as a child of His adoption, too precious to Him as a jewel of His cabinet, too lovely in his eye as accepted in the Son of His love, that He should do you hurt. Whatever His conduct may be, you shall exclaim with David, "Your gentleness has made me great." His rebukes will do you no hurt. They are the probings of the Lord, searching into the deep evil of our heart, and into the sinnings of our spirit, but to bind up and heal. We may shrink from the cuttings of the surgeon's knife, wince at the searching of his probe as it penetrates to the core of the disease--nevertheless, painful for the moment as the process may be, it is essential to our cure. And so God's searching of the heart, His deep probing of its hidden evil, His intent to discover the concealed agent that has caused so much ill health to your soul, will do you no hurt, but will result in your greater purity of heart, conformity to Christ, and real advance in the divine life. The Lord will do you no hurt in His afflictive dispensations. For the present the disappointment is grievous--the blow is crushing--the hand of your God is heavy upon you--nevertheless, underlying all, there is a divine tenderness, infinitely more gentle than the gentlest nurse with her child, infinitely more tender than the tenderest love of a mother towards her first-born. Then, be still, lie passive, and as a weaned child, behave and quiet yourself beneath a loving Father's gentle hand, for He has said, "I will do you no hurt." Nor will He permit others to hurt you. What a wonderful passage is that in the history of His dealings with His people in the wilderness, "When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, He allowed no man to do them wrong." And so He will shield and protect you. And when we hurt ourselves, as we continually do by our sin and folly, He graciously and tenderly binds up our self-inflicted wounds, soothes the bruises of our falls, and makes our broken bones once more to rejoice. Then, my soul, yield yourself to Jesus. He never has hurt you, He never will.

A kind of omnipotence in it

(Thomas Brooks, "Heaven on Earth" 1667)

Faith is an appropriating grace.

Faith looks upon God, and says with David,
"This God is my God forever and ever!
 He shall be my guide unto the death!"

Faith looks upon Christ, and says with the spouse,
"I am my Beloved's — and my Beloved is mine!"

Faith looks upon an immortal crown, and says
"Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of glory."

Faith looks upon the righteousness of Christ,
and says, "This righteousness is mine to cover me."

Faith looks upon the mercy of Christ, and
says, "This mercy is mine to pardon me."

Faith looks upon the power of Christ, and
says, "This power is mine to support me."

Faith looks upon the wisdom of Christ, and
says, "This wisdom is mine to direct me."

Faith looks upon the blood of Christ, and
says, "This blood is mine to save me."

Faith has a kind of omnipotence in it;
it is able to do all things.

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Saints unknown, Stars unseen

Solitude Sweetened by James Meikle, 1730-1799   As there are stars in the sparkling skies of heaven of different magnitudes and glory—so there are saints of different stations in the church of God. Some like stars of the first magnitude, point out the way to bliss; while others, like stars of a second, third, and fourth magnitude, sparkle with an upright walk, and heavenly conversation, and condemn a wicked world. All these glorify God, as it were, in an active manner. But there is another class of his precious ones, who glorify God only in a passive manner, compared to others. These are the secret, private, and retired Christians; who, like the stars that lie concealed in the amazing voids of space, and never strike the naked eye, nor seem connected with our system, are only known to God. But as the glory of God's creating hand, though less visible to us, is as really displayed among those stars that he has stationed so sublime, as among those which he has dropped nearer to our earth—so he is glorified by the private, as well as the public Christian. The resignation of the one to the divine disposal may be as acceptable to God, as the more active labors of the other. How is God satisfied, so to speak, to see his creature wholly at his command; his will molded into the will of the Most High; his desires measured by Heaven's distribution of mercies, and his ambition only to be like God. Here the whole man, with his whole concerns, are wholly devoted to God. Here rebel-thoughts are slain, and the unknown saint only waits the will of God—to submit to fully, freely, and without reserve. Such a heart God dwells in, and such a soul is his throne. Nothing pleases God better, than when all he does pleases his people. Thus the soul ripens fur glory, and a sacred correspondence is carried on between the heart and heaven. The man casts himself and all his concerns, onto the undisputed will of him who cannot err. Nothing can go wrong with the man, because divine wisdom orders all for him. Yes, what he thinks hard in itself, if he has no sinful hand in it, he embraces and submits to, because of him who sends it. He sounds God's praise loudest—who is silent before God. While the profession of some is blazing, the love of the submissive soul is burning. While others march heavenward in the broad day, and before the wide world; this is a walk within doors, in his own house at home. Of all things, grace grows best in retirement, and, like Jacob, when left alone, he wrestles with the angel of the covenant, for blessings to himself, his family, the church, and the whole world. He is not less holy, because no human eye is on him—but keeps clean hands, from a clean heart. He is not like the painted hypocrite; who must be religious for reputation's sake. He has his conversation in heaven, and his communion with the Most High. Happy is he in his life, happy at his death—for he lives with God, dies in the Lord, and goes to be forever with the Lord!

All Types

By George Matheson


"When they saw the boldness of Peter and John...they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).

These two men drew one quality from the same source; they had both become bold from living with Jesus. Yet it was not the same kind of boldness. Peter and John were both courageous; yet the courage of Peter was as unlike the courage of John as the sun is unlike the moon. When Christ gives the same quality to two men He does not thereby make them the same man. The light which shines on the wall comes from the same source as the light which shines on the river; but no one would mistake the light on the river for the light on the wall. 

Even so, no one would mistake the courage of Peter for the courage of John. They are not only different; they are in some sense opposite. Peter has the courage that strikes; John has the courage that waits. Peter is a force of action; John is a force of bearing. Peter draws the sword; John lies on the bosom. Peter crosses the sea to meet Jesus; John tarries till the Lord comes. Peter goes into the sepulchre where the body of Jesus has lain; John merely looks in--keeps the image of sorrow in his heart.

Christ needs each of these types. There are times when His kingdom requires the courage of the hand--the power of actual contact with danger. 

There are times when it needs the courage of the heart--the power to wait when nothing can be done, and to keep the spirit up when the hand must be let down. Life has both its Galilee and its Patmos--its place for work and its place for waiting; and for both it requires courage.

Sealed and Sure

By Theodore Epp

      
2 Corinthians 1:18-22

A key verse related to the sealing of the Holy Spirit is Ephesians 1:13: "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." This truth is also stated in 2 Corinthians 1:22: "Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."

God the Father has anointed us and sealed us, according to 2 Corinthians 1:21. The seal, however, is the Holy Spirit Himself. The persons sealed are those who have trusted in Christ. This is clear from the Scripture verses already quoted. The basis for this sealing is belief in the Gospel of Christ. When a person trusts Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer and God seals the believer by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to us as the earnest, or down payment, of our further inheritance.

The Word of God does not say that the Spirit is given only to the spiritual Christian. Believers can, and sometimes do, become carnal; nevertheless, they are sealed by the Spirit of God. Paul told the Corinthians that he could not write to them as spiritual believers but had to treat them as "carnal, even as ... babes in Christ" (1 Cor. 3:1). Yet to this same group he wrote: "Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Cor. 1:21,22).

"Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Rom. 8:9).

Shall we complain? Shall we repine? Shall we murmur?

(James Smith, "To the Bereaved" 1856)

"The Lord gave — and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!" Job 1:21

So spoke the patriarch Job, when stripped of all his property and bereaved of all his children in one day. Reduced at once from affluence — to poverty; from the highest elevation — to the lowest point of human suffering — he exclaimed, "Blessed be the name of the Lord!" 

Such language befits us; for all that we have is from the goodness of God; it is from His free favor — and not because we have a right to it. All claim upon God was forfeited by sin; therefore all that we receive, is a proof of His kindness. All we that have — He gave to us; or rather, lent to us. And whatever He has lent to us — He may recall — may recall at any time, and in any way which pleases Him. There is nothing upon which we can lay our hand and say, "This is absolutely mine!" All is lent to us by a gracious God — lent us to enjoy, improve, and return to its proper Owner.

Shall we complain? Shall we repine? Shall we murmur if God takes from us any one thing which He has lent to us, especially when He leaves us with so much?

"The Lord gave — and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!"

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Your good things are all yet to come

(J.C. Ryle)
"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God!" Hebrews 12:1-2

We must run with perseverance — or we shall never obtain. There may be many things we cannot understand, much that the flesh could perhaps wish otherwise — but let us endure unto the end, and all shall be made clear, and God's arrangements shall be proved best. Think not to have your reward on earth — do not draw back, because your good things are all yet to come. 

Today is the cross — but tomorrow is the crown.
Today is the labor — but tomorrow are the wages.
Today is the sowing — but tomorrow is the harvest.
Today is the battle — but tomorrow is the rest.
Today is the weeping — but tomorrow is the joy.

And what is today, when compared to tomorrow?
Today is but seventy years — but tomorrow is eternity!

"Run in such a way as to get the prize!" 1 Corinthians 9:24

Steep, craggy, and beset with foes

(Newman Hall, "Follow Jesus")
 

There are many variations in the Christian's path. Sometimes it is smooth and flowery, with sunny slopes, and sylvan shades, and prospects which entrance the soul with loveliness. There are seasons when no doubts perplex the spirit, and when our circumstances in life are in harmony with duty, so that the right path is an easy path.

But this is the exception.

Often the road is steep, craggy, and beset with foes! Sometimes it is a "Hill Difficulty" throughout, and Apollyon stretches himself across the way aiming his fiery darts at the pilgrim. Then some bypath attracts us by its pleasantness, while Satan whispers that a thornyand painful road, cannot be the true one.

But Jesus never promised to lead us only in smooth places. It is not necessary that we should always rejoice — but it is necessary that we always follow. Wherever He goes, rough or smooth — there we also must go.
 

"My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish — ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand!" John 10:27-28

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