"He went out, not knowing whither He went" (Heb. xi. 8).

  


Days of Heaven Upon Earth





"He went out, not knowing whither He went" (Heb. xi. 8).

It is faith without sight. When we can see, it is not faith but reasoning. In crossing the Atlantic we observed this very principle of faith. We saw no path upon the sea nor sign of the shore. And yet day by day we were marking our path upon the chart as exactly as if there had followed us a great chalk line upon the sea; and when we came within twenty miles of land we knew where we were as exactly as if we had seen it all three thousand miles ahead.

How had we measured and marked our course? Day by day our captain had taken his instruments, and looking up to the sky had fixed his course by the sun. He was sailing by the heavenly, not the earthly lights. So faith looks up and sails on, by God's great Sun, not seeing one shore line or earthly lighthouse or path upon the way. Often its steps seem to lead into utter uncertainty, and even darkness and disaster. But He opens the way, and often makes such midnight hours the very gates of day. Let us go forth this day, not knowing but trusting.

The Secret of our Strength

The Secret of our Strength

By J.B. Stoney


"SKIN for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life". 

According as anything approaches in value to one's life, so is it tenaciously grasped and persistently retained. The sure evidence that the truth we have learned is of real value to us is the tenacity and inviolability with which we hold to it. If I believe it is the mind of God revealed to me, it must be dearer to me than my natural life, which is in itself terminable, while the other is not. The very fact of the warning, "Hold that fast which thou hast", shows that there would be an attempt to deprive the saints of the truth they had received.

In our warfare the devil always aims at the secret of our strength. In one day it was the ark of the covenant that he aimed at; in this day it is the truth to which the church has been awakened. To deprive us of this truth is his one aim. He concentrates all his force and craft upon this one point, and if this be surrendered, we shall easily be his prey. Seeing then that we know that the force of the enemy is directed to this end, namely, to deprive us of this truth, let us first ascertain what it is, and secondly, what is the only true way of holding it fast.

The truth which has been given consists of two parts. One relates to the Lord as He is intrinsically in His nature and being "he that is holy, he that is true"; the other refers to His power -- "He that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth". Let us meditate on them in detail. 

The first, that He is holy and true, strikes a believer at once as a very simple fact that could in no wise be gainsaid or qualified. In a word, any attempt to contravene such a fundamental truth must meet with instant and indignant denial. And yet, strange as it may sound, all the confusion in Christendom, and all the variance between the Lord's people, arises from an inaccurate and insensible way of holding this truth. Things and associations are suffered and sanctioned which could never have been tolerated if there had been any true sense of His holiness and truth. The lack of godly discipline in the congregation, even where there is a pious, painstaking minister, has driven many a godly soul out of a congregation. There was a sense that in this association they had not respect to His holiness; and if I do not respect His holiness, I cannot acknowledge His truth. This sense of His holiness is only acquired by nearness to Him. He is now walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, and no one who is mixed up in the corruption of Christendom can draw near Him without being alarmed at His aspect there. Nearness to the Lord, when I am associated with evil, distresses me instead of cheering me, though the distress be the means of awakening me to the unsuitability of my position.

We are never really aware of the holiness of the Lord until we are near Him. Jacob could allow many things at Shalom which he found to be wholly inexcusable and unfit for Bethel. Nearness to the Lord declares at once what is fit for Him and what is not. "Whatsoever doth make manifest is light". "He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God". When I am awake to His holiness, I see clearly that nothing else is fit for Him in His own house but what He is in Himself. 

The queen's daughter, in prophetic language, is suited to Him. She is "all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold". All that is evil or false is utterly at variance with Him. It is a great day for the soul when it hears this from His own lips, and accepts it in its greatness and reality. It exacts full and unqualified separation from everything and everyone unsuited to Christ. There is an exaction, a line of demarcation, a reiteration of the words, "come out from among them, and be yo separate, . . . and touch not the unclean thing". It is a separation to the highest standard; as my heart turns and cleaves to Him, I am sensible of the only terms on which I can enjoy Him, even that Ho is holy, and that He is true. Much of His grace can be known, and there may be true faith in Him, without there being nearness enough to fool the exaction which His presence entails. "Put off thy shoos from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground". Then, however graciously Ho comes to us - as in a bush, and it is not consumed - we must fool and know, as Moses did, that it is holy ground. 

Ono is simply at a distance from the Lord when ho does not enter into this, the first and the greatest point because the moral ono, that Ho is the holy and the true. It is said of a blind man that ho can form no conception of what light is until ho sees it. Can any ono comprehend holiness but near the Lord? and how can ho be near Him if mixed up with the corruption of christendom? If ho draws near to Him, ho must encounter His eyes like a flame of fire, for He is indignant at the state of the church. On the other hand great influence controls us - "With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure."

The cross is not made of soft feathers!

The cross is not made of soft feathers!

(Charles Spurgeon)
"Take up the cross — and follow Me." Mark 10:21

You have not the liberty of making of your own cross; although unbelief is a master carpenter at cross-making. Neither are you permitted to choose your own cross; although self-will would gladly be lord and master. Your cross is prepared and appointed for you by divine love — and you are cheerfully to accept it. You are to take up the cross as your chosen portion, and not to stand caviling at it. Jesus bids you to submit your shoulder to His easy yoke. Do not . . .

  kick at it in petulance, or 
  trample on it in vain-glory, or
  fall under it in despair, or 
  run away from it in fear.
Take it up like a true follower of Jesus.

Jesus was a cross-bearer; He leads the way in the path of sorrow. Surely you could not desire a better guide! And if He carried a cross — what nobler burden would you desire?

The Way of the Cross is the way of safety — do not fear to tread its thorny paths.

Beloved, the cross is not made of soft feathers, or lined with velvet — it is heavy and galling to disobedient shoulders! But it is not an iron cross, though your fears have painted it with iron colors! It is a wooden cross, and a man can carry it, for the Man of sorrows carried the load. Take up your cross, and by the power of the Spirit — you will soon be so in love with it, that like Moses, you would not exchange the reproach of Christ for all the treasures of Egypt!

Remember that the cross will soon be followed by the crown. The thought of the coming weight of glory — will greatly lighten the present heaviness of trouble. May the Lord help you to bow your heart in submission to His divine will — that you may go forth to this day's cross with the holy and submissive spirit which befits a follower of the Crucified One.

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A New Year's Resolution

A New Year's Resolution

(Matthew Henry)

"My times are in Your hand!" Psalm 31:15

Firmly believing that my times are in God's hand, I here submit myself and all my affairs for the ensuing year, to the wise and gracious disposal of God's divine providence. Whether God appoints for me . . . .
  health or sickness,
  peace or trouble,
  comforts or crosses,
  life or death —
may His holy will be done!

All my time, strength, and service, I devote to the honor of the Lord Jesus — and even my common actions. It is my earnest expectation, hope, and desire, my constant aim and endeavor — that Jesus Christ may be magnified in me.

In everything I have to do — my entire dependence is upon Jesus Christ for strength. And whatever I do in word or deed, I desire to do all in His name, to make Him my Alpha and Omega. I have all from Him — and I would use all for Him.

If this should prove a year of affliction, a sorrowful year to me — I will fetch all my supports and comforts from the Lord Jesus and stay myself upon Him, His everlasting consolations, and the good hope I have in Him through grace.

And if it should be my dying year — then my times are in the hand of the Lord Jesus. And with a humble reliance upon His mediation, I would venture into the eternal world looking for the blessed hope. Dying as well as living — Jesus Christ will, I trust, be gain and advantage to me.

Oh, that the grace of God may be sufficient for me, to keep me always a humble sense of my own unworthiness, weakness, folly, and infirmity — together with a humble dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ for both righteousness and strength.

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The physician's blood became the sick man's salve!

The physician's blood became the sick man's salve! 

(Thomas Brooks, "The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures")
"He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

Our sins were the cause of Christ's sufferings!

It was our sins which smote Him, and bruised Him!
It was our transgressions which gave Christ His deadly wounds!

Every Christian may look upon Christ and say,
"I was that Judas who betrayed You!
 I was that soldier who murdered You!
 It was my sins which brought all those sorrows, and sufferings, and evils upon You!
    I have sinned--and You have suffered!
    I have been wicked--and You have died!
    I have wounded You--and You have healed me!"

Oh, that we might look upon . . .
   a humble Christ--with a humble heart,
   a broken Christ--with a broken heart,
   a bleeding Christ--with a bleeding heart,
   a wounded Christ--with a wounded heart!

"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree; by His wounds you have been healed." 1 Peter 2:24

Here you see that the physician's blood became the sick man's salve! 

Here is the gospel mystery--that the wounding of One, should be the cure of another!

Oh, what an odious thing is sin to God--that He will pardon none without blood--yes, without the precious blood of His dearest Son!

Oh, what a Hell of wickedness must there be in sin--that nothing can expiate it but the best, the purest, the noblest blood of Christ!

Oh, what a transcendent evil must sin be--that nothing can purge it away but death--the accursed death of the cross!

Oh, what a leprosy is sin--that it must have blood, yes, the blood of God, to take it away!

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We have published George Everard's superb 2 page article, "The Smitten Rock!"

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This new spiritual life

This new spiritual life

(James Smith, "The Way of Salvation Set Forth")

By nature we are all dead in trespasses and sins. There is . . .
  no breath of prayer,
  no sight of God,
  no listening to the voice of mercy,
  no power of faith;
but we are alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in us. In this state we live — until God who is rich in mercy with the great love with which He loved us, quickens us together with Christ, and saves us by His grace. The Holy Spirit imparts a new, a divine life. In consequence of this, we . . .
  discover our lost state,
  feel our dangerous position,
  fear the wrath of God,
  desire true holiness, and
  flee to Jesus for full salvation.

This life coming from God — always leads us to God.
Being holy — it produces earnest longings for holiness.
Being spiritual — it can only be satisfied with spiritual blessings.

Jesus becomes the food, the repose, the delight of the soul. To Jesus the spiritual life always tends; on Him it feeds; and of Him alone it boasts.

This new spiritual life is imparted in regeneration, and reveals itself in conversion to God. Its manifestations are . . .
  repentance for sin,
  faith in Jesus,
  love to God, and
  earnest longings for holiness of heart and life.

It is this spiritual life which distinguishes the real believer from the mere professor of religion. It makes him a new man, and leads him to prove the truth of the Apostles words, "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away; behold all things are become new!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

Such I may have been — but for free and sovereign grace!

Such I may have been — but for free and sovereign grace!

(James Smith, "The Book That Will Suit You!")

"By the grace of God — I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10 

Consider what you were — before saved by sovereign grace. Your heart was enmity against God, deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked! You did not have one pure desire, one holy thought, or one feeling of love to God.

Further, what would you have been — but for the grace of God? Look at the vilest, the most debased, the most debauched of our race — and you may truly say, "Such I may have been — but for free and sovereign grace!"

"By the grace of God — I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10

The Cross and the Deliverance of the Mind

The Cross and the Deliverance of the Mind
by T. Austin-Sparks


There are few, if any, more malignant causes of spiritual paralysis than a mind unrenewed or unguarded. We learn by bitter experience that the main objective of the adversary as the most important means to his ends is the mind. Nine-tenths of the trouble with both the individual child of God and the fellowship (or arrested fellowship) of the Lord's people is traceable to the workings of the unrenewed mind in which there is carnality still or the mind unguarded becoming the playground of "The prince of the power of the air." There are three aspects or directions of this morbid activity — Godward, manward, and selfward; or upward, outward and inward.

We take the second first.

The Paralysis of a Doubtful Mental Concept Manward


In this realm we have a whole catalogue of unhappy symptoms. Christians with a true knowledge of God and otherwise a real walk with God becoming the prey of all kinds of thoughts about others; misjudgments, prejudices, criticisms, imaginations, etc. Plutarch spoke of great public conflagrations which were resultant from a smoking lamp of gossip in an attic. How true it is that a smouldering suggestion made to the mind and unquenched, at once involves that one and many others in a fire of far-reaching spiritual devastation. The activity of our own natural mind apart from the true revelation of the Holy Spirit; the observation, suggestion, interpretation, report, description, information of others; the insinuation, complexion, perspective, presentation of the wicked spirits in, through, or apart from the above; the "judging after the sight of the eyes and the hearing of the ears" (a thing which it is said the Lord Jesus would never do), the reasoning of the reason; how these lead to arrest, inflammation, disaffection, not only in the member concerned, but — if we knew the laws of spiritual relationship — in the whole spiritual organism.

A germ of this kind may be a lie in substance, or, being truth in substance, nevertheless sets up a wrong basis of relationships, i.e., human instead of Divine; "Knowing after the flesh instead of after the spirit." Oh, if only the Lord's people would obey the profoundly wise injunction "Prove all things"! Such a concept as we have mentioned will soon be fed by the enemy, and seeming evidence will accumulate from all quarters to justify (?) it. When relationships are so infected co-ordinated action and corporate functioning is impossible and the devil's end is achieved.

Then as to the Godward direction.


The Paralysis of a Questioning Mind


This is peculiarly the peril of the severely tried children of God, or the lurking danger in times and places of adversity. A doubt as to the love, the wisdom, the power, the faithfulness of God. Few there be that pass through without at least the consciousness of this spectre, and not many have passed through deep waters and intense fires without a Godward "Why?" at least in their thought. "Why should it be me?" "Why should it always be me?" The ruin of the race was resultant from the acceptance of an insinuation from Satan that God was after all not really favourable to the highest well-being of man; that there was something He was keeping back, and suspicion of God has always been a master-stroke against the primary law of union with God — faith.

When this seed of doubt has been sown in the mind and allowed to remain it is not long before every phase of spiritual vitality is paralysed; prayer, fellowship, the Word, ministry, service, testimony; and God can do nothing with a doubter.


Then again,


The Paralysis of an Introspective Gaze


There are so many whose eyes are always turning inward; self-scrutinising, self-analysing, self-judging. They are always looking at their own spiritual tongue and taking their own spiritual pulse; comparing themselves unfavourably with others of their knowledge, and projecting their own spiritual sensibilities to be hurt. What accusations and condemnations the enemy is able to level at and put upon such! It is no wonder that before long they entertain doubts as to the truth of their own salvation and of God's acceptance of them. This leads to the bogey of having committed the unpardonable sin. Oh, the perils of a too strict an individualism in salvation!