tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50085223856079296822024-02-20T17:49:09.621-08:00Book 3 For God's PilgrimsFloral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-71663644544947244502017-04-17T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-17T00:00:29.097-07:00Lord, thy word is enough; thy bond is as good as ready payment<br /> O my soul, there is but a short life between thee and glory, where holy angels <br />and glorified saints shall be my associates, and love and praise my only employment. <br />Methinks I hear already how the morning stars sing together, and all the sons of God <br />shout for joy. O that I could come in! But it was said unto me, that I should rest yet for <br />a little season, and I shall stand in my lot at the end of the days. It is well; Lord, thy word <br />is enough; thy bond is as good as ready payment. The Holy Ghost tells me, that life and <br />glory abide me; that what day I loose from the body, the same day I shall be landed in <br />paradise. Amen. It is as I would have it.<br /> But this is not all. When my body hath slept a short nap in the dust, Christ will call to it, <br />Come up hither. Ah, true yoke-fellow, it will be a hard parting, but a welcome meeting. I <br />could not leave thee, but to live with Christ. But he will raise thee a glorious temple; and <br />when he shall appear, will bring me with himself in glory; and then I shall re-enter thee as a <br />royal mansion, wherein I shall abide with the Lord for ever. For as we have served our <br />Redeemer together, so we must be glorified together with him. And when the Lord hath <br />married us together again, then will he marry us both unto himself. For I know that my <br />Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the last day upon the earth. <br /> Joseph AlleineFloral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-27589855583125109572017-04-16T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-16T00:00:13.318-07:00PRISON MEDITATIONS by John Bunyan<b> PRISON MEDITATIONS<br /><br /> DEDICATED TO THE HEART <br /> OF SUFFERING SAINTS <br /> AND REIGNING SINNERS<br /><br /> By John Bunyan</b><br />
<br />
Friend, I salute thee in the Lord,<br />
And wish thou may'st abound<br />
In faith, and have a good regard <br />
To keep on holy ground.<br />
<br />
Thou dost encourage me to hold<br />
My head above the flood;<br />
Thy counsel better is than gold:<br />
In need thereof I stood.<br />
<br />
Good counsel's good at any time;<br />
The wise will it receive,<br />
Tho' fools count he commits a crime<br />
Who doth good counsel give.<br />
<br />
I take it kindly at thy hand<br />
Thou didst unto me write;<br />
My feet upon Mount Zion stand,<br />
In that take thou delight.<br />
<br />
I am indeed in prison now<br />
In body, but my mind<br />
Is free to study Christ, and how<br />
Unto me he is kind.<br />
<br />
For tho' men keep my outward man<br />
Within their locks and bars,<br />
Yet by the faith of Christ I can<br />
Mount higher than the stars.<br />
<br />
Their fetters cannot spirits tame,<br />
Nor tie up God from me;<br />
My faith and hope they cannot lame;<br />
Above them I shall be.<br />
<br />
I here am very much refreshed<br />
To think, when I was out <br />
I preached life and peace and rest<br />
To sinners round about.<br />
<br />
My business then was souls to save<br />
By preaching grace and faith,<br />
Of which the comfort now I have,<br />
And have it shall till death.<br />
<br />
They were no fables that I taught,<br />
Devis'd by cunning men,<br />
But God's own word, by which were caught<br />
Some sinners now and then.<br />
<br />
Whose souls by it were made to see<br />
The evil of their sin;<br />
And need of Christ to make them free<br />
From death, which they were in.<br />
<br />
And now those very hearts that then<br />
Were foes unto the Lord,<br />
Embrace his Christ and truth, like men<br />
Conquer'd by his word.<br />
<br />
I hear them sigh, and groan, and cry<br />
For grace to God above;<br />
They loathe their sin, and to it die;<br />
'Tis holiness they love.<br />
<br />
This was the work I was about<br />
When hands on me were laid;<br />
'Twas this from which they pluck'd me out; <br />
And vilely to me said:<br />
<br />
You heretic, deceiver, come,<br />
To prison you must go;<br />
You preach abroad, and keep not home,<br />
You are the Church's foe.<br />
<br />
But having peace within my soul,<br />
And truth on every side,<br />
I could with comfort them control,<br />
And at their charge deride.<br />
<br />
Wherefore to prison they me sent,<br />
Where to this day I lie;<br />
And can with very much content<br />
For my profession die.<br />
<br />
The prison very sweet to me<br />
Hath been since I came here,<br />
And so would also hanging be,<br />
If God would there appear.<br />
<br />
Here dwells good conscience, also peace;<br />
Here be my garments white;<br />
Here, though in bonds, I have release<br />
From guilt, which else would bite.<br />
<br />
When they do talk of banishment,<br />
Of death, or such like things,<br />
Then to me God send heart's content,<br />
That like a fountain springs.<br />
<br />
Alas I they little think what peace<br />
They help me to, for by<br />
Their rage my comforts do increase;<br />
Bless God, therefore, do I.<br />
<br />
If they do give me gall to drink,<br />
Then God doth sweet'ning cast—<br />
So much thereto that they can't think<br />
How bravely it doth taste.<br />
<br />
For as the devil sets before<br />
Me heaviness and grief,<br />
So God sets Christ and grace much more,<br />
Whereby I take relief.<br />
<br />
Though they say then that we are fools<br />
Because we here do lie,<br />
I answer, Jails are Christ his schools,<br />
In them we learn to die.<br />
<br />
'Tis not the baseness of this state<br />
Doth hide us from God's face;<br />
He frequently, both soon and late,<br />
Doth visit us with grace.<br />
<br />
Here come the angels, here come saints,<br />
Here comes the Spirit of God,<br />
To comfort us in our restraints<br />
Under the wicked's rod.<br />
<br />
God sometimes visits prisoners more<br />
Than lordly palaces;<br />
He often knocketh at the door<br />
When he their houses miss.<br />
<br />
The truth and life of heav'nly things<br />
Lift up our hearts on high,<br />
And carry us on eagles' wings<br />
Beyond carnality.<br />
<br />
It takes away those clogs that hold<br />
The hearts of other men, <br />
And makes us lively, strong and bold<br />
Thus to oppose their sin.<br />
<br />
By which means God doth frustrate<br />
That which our foes expect—<br />
Namely, our turning the apostate,<br />
Like those of Judas' sect.<br />
<br />
Here comes to our remembrance<br />
The troubles good men had<br />
Of old, and for our furtherance<br />
Their joys when they were sad.<br />
<br />
To them that here for evil lie<br />
The place is comfortless,<br />
But not to me, because that I<br />
Lie here for righteousness.<br />
<br />
The truth and I were both here cast<br />
Together, and we do<br />
Lie arm in arm, and so hold fast<br />
Each other; this is true.<br />
<br />
This jail to us is as a hill,<br />
From whence we plainly see<br />
Beyond this world, and take our fill<br />
Of things that lasting be.<br />
<br />
From hence we see the emptiness<br />
Of all the world contains;<br />
And here we feel the blessedness<br />
That for us yet remains.<br />
<br />
Here we can see how all men play<br />
Their parts, as on a stage—<br />
How good men suffer for God's way,<br />
And bad men at them rage.<br />
<br />
Here we can see who holds that ground<br />
Which they in Scripture find:<br />
Here we see also who turns round<br />
Like weathercocks with wind.<br />
<br />
We can also from hence behold<br />
How seeming friends appear<br />
But hypocrites, as we are told<br />
In Scripture everywhere.<br />
<br />
When we did walk at liberty<br />
We were deceiv'd by them,<br />
Who we from hence do clearly see<br />
Are vile, deceitful men.<br />
<br />
These politicians that profess<br />
For base and worldly ends,<br />
Do not appear to us at best<br />
But Machiavellian friends.<br />
<br />
Though men do say we do disgrace<br />
Ourselves by lying here<br />
Among the rogues, yet Christ our face<br />
From all such filth will clear.<br />
<br />
We know there's neither flout nor frown<br />
That we now for him bear,<br />
But will add to our heavenly crown<br />
When he comes in the air—<br />
<br />
When he our righteousness forth brings<br />
Bright shining as the day,<br />
And wipeth off those sland'rous things<br />
That scorners on us lay.<br />
<br />
We sell our earthly happiness<br />
For heavenly house and home;<br />
We leave this world because 'tis less<br />
And worse than that to come.<br />
<br />
We change our drossy dust for gold,<br />
From death to life we fly;<br />
We let go shadows, and take hold<br />
Of immortality.<br />
<br />
We trade for that which lasting is,<br />
And nothing for it give<br />
But that which is already His<br />
By whom we breathe and live. <br />
<br />
That liberty we lose for him<br />
Sickness might take away;<br />
Our goods might also for our sin<br />
By fire or thieves decay.<br />
<br />
Again we see what glory 'tis<br />
Freely to bear our cross<br />
For Him who for us took up his<br />
When he our servant was.<br />
<br />
I am most free that men should see<br />
A hole cut through my ear;<br />
If others will ascertain me,<br />
They'll hang a jewel there.<br />
<br />
Just thus it is: we suffer here<br />
For Him a little pain,<br />
Who when he doth again appear<br />
Will with him let us reign.<br />
<br />
If all must either die for sin<br />
A death that's natural,<br />
Or else for Christ, 'tis best with him<br />
Who for the last doth fall.<br />
<br />
Who now dare say we throw away<br />
Our goods or liberty,<br />
When God's most holy word doth say<br />
We gain thus much thereby?<br />
<br />
Hark yet again, you carnal men,<br />
And hear what I shall say<br />
In your own dialect, and then<br />
I'll you no longer stay.<br />
<br />
You talk sometimes of valour much,<br />
And count such bravely mann'd<br />
That will not stick to have a touch<br />
With any in the land.<br />
<br />
If these be worth commending, then,<br />
That vainly show their might,<br />
How dare you blame those holy men<br />
That in God's quarrel fight?<br />
<br />
Though you dare crack a coward's <br />
crown,<br />
Or quarrel for a pin,<br />
You dare not on the wicked frown,<br />
Nor speak against their sin.<br />
<br />
For all your spirits are so stout<br />
For matters that are vain,<br />
Yet sin besets you round about;<br />
You are in Satan's chain.<br />
<br />
You dare not for the truth engage,<br />
You quake at 'prisonment;<br />
You dare not make the tree your stage<br />
For Christ, that King potent.<br />
<br />
Know, then, true valour there doth dwell<br />
Where men engage for God<br />
Against the Devil, death and hell,<br />
And bear the wicked's rod.<br />
<br />
These be the men that God doth count<br />
Of high and noble mind;<br />
These be the men that do surmount<br />
What you in nature find.<br />
<br />
First, they do conquer their own hearts,<br />
All worldly fears, and then<br />
Also the devil's fiery darts,<br />
And persecuting men.<br />
<br />
They conquer when they thus do fall,<br />
They kill when they do die;<br />
They overcome then most of all,<br />
And get the victory.<br />
<br />
The worldling understands not this,<br />
'Tis clear out of his sight;<br />
Therefore he counts this world his bliss,<br />
And doth our glory slight.<br />
<br />
The lubber knows not how to spring<br />
The nimble footman's stage;<br />
Neither can owls or jackdaws sing<br />
When they are in the cage.<br />
<br />
The swine doth not the pearls regard,<br />
But them doth slight for grains,<br />
Though the wise merchant labours hard<br />
For them with greatest pains.<br />
<br />
Consider, man, what I have said,<br />
And judge of things aright;<br />
When all men's cards are fully play'd,<br />
Whose will abide the light?<br />
<br />
Will those who have us hither cast?<br />
Or they who do us scorn?<br />
Or those who do our houses waste?<br />
Or us who this have borne?<br />
<br />
And let us count those things the best<br />
That best will prove at last;<br />
And count such men the only blest<br />
That do such things hold fast.<br />
<br />
And what tho' they us dear do cost,<br />
Yet let us buy them so;<br />
We shall not count our labour lost<br />
When we see others' woe.<br />
<br />
And let saints be no longer blam'd<br />
By carnal policy,<br />
But let the wicked be asham'd<br />
Of their malignity. <br />
<br />
<br />Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-87868394346320743342017-04-15T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-15T00:00:13.397-07:00from Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan<b>from <br /><br />Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners<br />by John Bunyan</b><br />
<br />
Having made profession of the glorious Gospel of <br />
Christ a long time, and preached the same about five years, <br />
I was apprehended at a meeting of good people in the country; <br />
among whom had they let me alone I should have preached that <br />
day; but they took me away from amongst them, and had me <br />
before a justice; who, after I had offered security for my appearing <br />
the next sessions, yet committed me, because my sureties would not <br />
consent to be bound, that I should preach no more to the<br />
people.<br />
At the sessions after, I was indicted for an upholder <br />
and maintainer of unlawful assemblies and conventicles, and for not <br />
conforming to the national worship of the Church of England; and <br />
after some conference there with the justices, they taking my plain <br />
dealing with them for a confession, as they termed it, of the indictment, <br />
did sentence me to a perpetual banishment, because I refused to conform. <br />
So being again delivered up to the jailer's hands, I was had home to <br />
prison, and there have lain now complete twelve years, waiting to see <br />
what God would suffer these men to do with me.<br />
In which condition I have continued with much content, through grace; <br />
but have met with many turnings and goings upon my heart, both from the <br />
Lord, Satan, and my own corruptions: by all which, glory be to Jesus <br />
Christ, I have also received, among many things, much conviction, instruction, <br />
and understanding; of which at large I shall not here discourse; only give you <br />
a hint or two, a word that may stir up the godly to bless God and to pray <br />
for me; and also to take encouragement, should the case be their own, not <br />
to fear what man can do unto them.<br />
I never had in all my life so great an inlet into the word of God as now. <br />
Those Scriptures that I saw nothing in before, are made in this place and <br />
state to shine upon me. Jesus Christ also was never more real and apparent <br />
than now: here I have seen and felt him indeed. Oh that word! "We have <br />
not preached unto you cunningly devised fables;" and that, "God raised <br />
Christ from the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might <br />
be in God," were blessed words unto me, in this my imprisoned condition. <br />
These three or four Scriptures also have been great refreshments in this <br />
condition to me, (John 14:1-4; John 16:33; Col 3:3-4; Heb 12:22-24). <br />
So that sometimes, when I have been in the savour of them, I have been <br />
able "to laugh at destruction, and to fear neither the horse nor his rider." <br />
I have had sweet sights of the forgiveness of my sins in this place, and <br />
of my being with Jesus in another world. Oh the Mount Sion, <br />
the heavenly Jerusalem, the innumerable company of angels and <br />
God the Judge of all, and the spirits of just men made perfect, <br />
and Jesus, have been sweet unto me in this place! I have seen that <br />
here, which I am persuaded I shall never, while in this world, be <br />
able to express. I have seen a truth in this Scripture, "Whom <br />
having not seen ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, <br />
yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory."<br />
I never knew what it was for God to stand by me at all turns, <br />
and at every offer of Satan to afflict me, etc., as I have found him <br />
since I came in hither; for look how fears have presented themselves, <br />
so have supports and encouragements; yea, when I have started, <br />
even as it were at nothing else but my shadow, yet God, as <br />
being very tender of me, hath not suffered me to be molested, <br />
but would, with one Scripture or another, strengthen me against <br />
all, insomuch that I have often said, "Were it lawful, I could pray <br />
for greater trouble, for the greater comfort's sake."<br />
Before I came to prison, I saw what was a-coming; and had <br />
especially two considerations warm upon my heart. The first was, <br />
how to be able to encounter death, should that be here my portion. <br />
For the first of these, that Scripture was great information to me, <br />
namely, to pray to God "to be strengthened with all might, according <br />
to his glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness." <br />
I could seldom go to prayer before I was imprisoned, but for not so <br />
little as a year together, this sentence, or sweet petition, would, as it <br />
were, thrust itself into my mind, and persuade me, that if ever I would <br />
go through long suffering I must have patience, especially if I would <br />
endure it joyfully.<br />
As to the second consideration, that saying was of great use to me, <br />
"But we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we might not trust in <br />
ourselves, but in God that raiseth the dead." By this Scripture I was <br />
made to see, that if ever I would suffer rightly, I must first pass a sentence <br />
of death upon every thing that can properly be called a thing of this life; <br />
even to reckon myself, my wife, my children, my health, my enjoyments, <br />
and all as dead to me, and myself as dead to them.<br />
The second was, to live upon God that is invisible; as Paul said in <br />
another place, the way not to faint is, "to look not at the things which <br />
are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are <br />
seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." And thus <br />
I reasoned with myself: If I provide only for a prison then the whip comes <br />
unawares; and so doth also the pillory. Again, if I only provide for these, <br />
then I am not fit for banishment. Further, if I conclude that banishment is <br />
the worst, then if death come I am surprised. So that I see the best way <br />
to go through sufferings, is to trust in God through Christ, as touching the <br />
world to come; and as touching this world, to "count the grave my house, <br />
to make my bed in darkness, and to say to corruption, Thou art my father; <br />
and to the worm, Thou art my mother and sister;" that is, to familiarize <br />
these things to me.<br />
But notwithstanding these helps, I found myself a man encompassed <br />
with infirmities. The parting with my wife and poor children hath often <br />
been to me, in this place, as the pulling the flesh from my bones; <br />
and that not only because I am somewhat too fond of these mercies, <br />
but also because I should have often brought to my mind the many <br />
hardships, miseries, and wants that my poor family was likewise to <br />
meet with; especially my poor blind child, who lay nearer my heart <br />
than all I had beside. Oh! the thoughts of the hardships I thought <br />
my blind one might go under, would break my heart to pieces.<br />
Poor child, thought I, what sorrow art thou like to have for thy <br />
portion in this world! Thou must be beaten, must beg, suffer hunger, <br />
cold, nakedness, and a thousand calamities, though I cannot now <br />
endure the wind should blow upon thee. But yet recalling myself, <br />
thought I, I must venture you all with God, though it goeth to the <br />
quick to leave you. Oh! I saw in this condition I was as a man who <br />
was pulling down his house upon the head of his wife and children; <br />
yet thought I, I must do it, I must do it. And now I thought on those <br />
two milch kine that were to carry the ark of God into another country, <br />
to leave their calves behind them.<br />
But that which helped me in this temptation was divers considerations, <br />
of which three in special here I will name. The "first" was, the consideration <br />
of those two Scriptures, "Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them <br />
alive, and let thy widows trust in me:" and again, "The Lord said, Verily, <br />
it shall go well with thy remnant: verily, I will cause the enemy to entreat <br />
thee well in the time of evil," etc.<br />
I had also this consideration, that if I should now venture all for God, <br />
I engaged God to take care of my concernments; but if I forsook him and <br />
his ways, for fear of any trouble that should come to me or mine, then I <br />
should not only falsify my profession, but should count also that my <br />
concernments were not so sure, if left at God's feet, whilst I stood to <br />
and for his name, as they would be, if they were under my own care, <br />
though with the denial of the way of God. This was a smarting consideration, <br />
and as spurs unto my flesh. That Scripture also greatly helped it to fasten <br />
the more upon me, where Christ prays against Judas, that God would <br />
disappoint him in his selfish thoughts, which moved him to sell his master. <br />
Pray read it soberly. (Ps. 109:6-8, etc.)<br />
I had also another consideration, and that was, the dread of the torments <br />
of hell, which I was sure they must partake of, that for fear of the cross, do <br />
shrink from their profession of Christ, his words and laws, before the sons of <br />
men. I thought also of the glory he had prepared for those that in faith, and <br />
love and patience, stood to his ways before them. These things, I say, have <br />
helped me, when the thoughts of the misery that both myself and mine, might <br />
for the sake of my profession, be exposed to, hath lain pinching on my mind. <br />
When I have indeed conceited, that I might be banished for my profession, <br />
then I have thought of that Scripture, "They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, <br />
were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins, <br />
and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the world was <br />
not worthy;'' for all they thought they were too bad to dwell and abide amongst <br />
them. I have also thought of that saying, "The Holy Ghost witnesseth in every <br />
city, that bonds and afflictions abide me." I have verily thought, that my soul <br />
and it have sometimes reasoned about the sore and sad estate of a banished <br />
and exiled condition, how they are exposed to hunger, to cold, to perils, to<br />
nakedness, to enemies, and a thousand calamities; and at last, it may be to<br />
die in a ditch, like a poor, forlorn, and desolate sheep. But I thanked God,<br />
hitherto I have not been moved by these most delicate reasonings, but rather<br />
by them more approved my heart to God. <br />
I will tell you a pretty business: I was once above all the rest, in a <br />
very sad and low condition for many weeks, at which time also I being <br />
but a young prisoner, and not acquainted with the laws, had this lain much <br />
upon my spirit, "That my imprisonment might end at the gallows for aught <br />
that I could tell." Now therefore Satan laid hard at me, to beat me out of <br />
heart, by suggesting thus unto me: "But how if, when you come indeed to <br />
die, you should be in this condition; that is, as not to savour the things of <br />
God, nor to have any evidence upon your soul for a better state hereafter?" <br />
for indeed at that time all the things of God were hid from my soul.<br />
Wherefore, when I at first began to think of this, it was a great trouble to <br />
me; for I thought with myself, that in the condition I now was, I was <br />
not fit to die; neither indeed did think I could, if I should be called to it; <br />
besides, I thought with myself, if I should make a scrambling shift to <br />
clamber up the ladder, yet I should, either with quaking, or other symptoms <br />
of fainting, give occasion to the enemy to reproach the way of God and <br />
his people, for their timorousness. This therefore lay with great trouble <br />
upon me; for methought I was ashamed to die with a pale face, and tottering <br />
knees in such a case as this.<br />
Wherefore I prayed to God, that he would comfort me, and give strength <br />
to do and suffer what he should call me to. Yet no comfort appeared, but all <br />
continued hid. I was also at this time so really possessed with the thought of <br />
death; that oft I was as if on a ladder with a rope about my neck. Only this <br />
was some encouragement to me, I thought I might now have an opportunity <br />
to speak my last words unto a multitude which I thought would come to see <br />
me die: and, thought I, if it must be so, if God will but convert one soul by <br />
my last words, I shall not count my life thrown away, nor lost.<br />
But yet all the things of God were kept out of my sight, and still the tempter <br />
followed me with, "But whither must you go when you die? What will become <br />
of you? Where will you be found in another world? What evidence have you <br />
for heaven and glory, and an inheritance among them that are sanctified?" <br />
Thus was I tossed for many weeks and knew not what to do: at last this <br />
consideration fell with weight upon me, "That it was for the word and way <br />
of God that I was in this condition; wherefore I was engaged not to flinch <br />
an hair's breadth from it."<br />
I thought also, that God might choose whether he would give me comfort <br />
now, or at the hour of death; but I might not therefore choose whether I <br />
would hold my profession or no. I was bound, but he was free; yea, it was <br />
my duty to stand to his word, whether he would ever look upon me, or save <br />
me at the last; wherefore, thought I, save the point being thus, I am for going on, <br />
and venturing my eternal state with Christ, whether I have comfort here or no. <br />
If God doth not come in, thought I, "I will leap off the ladder, even blindfold <br />
into eternity; sink or swim, come heaven, come hell. Lord Jesus, if thou wilt <br />
catch me, do; if not, I will venture for thy name."<br />
I was no sooner fixed upon this resolution but the word dropped <br />
upon me, "Doth Job serve God for naught?" As if the accuser had said, <br />
"Lord, Job is no upright man; he serves thee for by-respects: hast thou <br />
not made an hedge about him?" etc. But put forth now thine hand, and <br />
touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. How now, <br />
thought I, is this the sign of a renewed soul, to desire to serve God when <br />
all is taken from him? Is he a godly man that will serve God for nothing rather <br />
than give out? Blessed be God then, I hope I have an upright heart; for I am <br />
resolved, God giving me strength, never to deny my profession, though I had <br />
nothing at all for my pains. And as I was thus considering, that Scripture <br />
was set before me, (Psalm 44:12, etc.). Now was my heart full of comfort, for <br />
I hoped it was sincere. I would not have been without this trial for much; I <br />
am comforted every time I think of it; and I hope I shall bless God forever,<br />
for the teachings I have had by it. Many more of the dealings of God <br />
towards me I might relate, "but these out of the spoils won in battle have <br />
I dedicated to maintain the house of God."<br />
<br />Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-42996482476815144942017-04-14T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-14T00:00:13.328-07:00I am plainly put to this choice, to part with my ministry or my conscience<b>The following was the conclusion of a sermon by Thomas Watson </b><br />
<b>on the eve of his ejectment from the rectorship of St. Stephens, </b><br />
<b>Walbrook, England, when the Act of Uniformity went into effect </b><br />
<b>on August 24, 1662. (This Act of Uniformity resulted in </b><br />
<b>"the ejection of Anglican clergymen who failed to comply with<br />its terms--and were forced out of the Church of England, schools, </b><br />
<b>and universities. Approximately 2,000 ministers were ejected.") </b><br />
<br />
The most glorious morning hath its evening; the hour is come wherein<br />
the sun is setting upon not a few of the prophets; the shadows of the<br />
evening are stretched forth upon us; our day draws, our work seems to<br />
be at an end. Our pulpits and places must know us no more. This is<br />
the Lord's doing, let all the earth keep silence before him. <br />
It is not a light thing for me, brethren, to be laid aside from the work,<br />
and cast out of the vineyard of the Lord; and it must be something of<br />
weight that must support under so severe a doom I know there are not<br />
a few that will add to the affliction of the afflicted, by telling the world it<br />
is their own fault, they might prevent it if they would. Whether this be so<br />
or no, God knoweth, and let the Lord be judge. Blessed be God, whatever<br />
be, this is not laid to our charge as the reason of our exclusion either<br />
insufficiency or scandal!<br />
You are not ignorant what things there are imposed on us, as the condition<br />
of our continuing our ministration; which how lawful and expedient soever<br />
they seem in the judgment of many, yet have the most specious arguments that<br />
plead for them, left me utterly dissatisfied in my conscience about them. I<br />
must profess before God, angels, and men, that my non-submission is not<br />
from any disloyalty to authority, nor from pride, humour, or any factious<br />
disposition, or design; but because I dare not contradict my light, nor do<br />
any thing concerning which my heart tells me, the Lord says, do it not. <br />
After all my most impartial inquiries,—after all my seeking counsel from<br />
the Lord,—after all my considering, and consulting with men of all persuasions<br />
about these matters,—I find myself so far short of satisfaction, that I am plainly<br />
put to this choice, to part with my ministry or my conscience. I dare not lie<br />
before God and the world; nor come and tell you, I approve, I allow, I heartily<br />
consent, to what I neither do nor can; but must choose rather, that my ministry<br />
be scaled up by my sufferings, than lengthened out by a lie, through the grace<br />
of God, though men do, yet my heart shall not reproach me while I live. "If<br />
our heart condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things."<br />
But however, though I must now no longer act as a minister, I shall, through the<br />
grace of God, endeavour peaceably, and patiently, to suffer as a Christian. I<br />
should, to testify my obedience to authority, have become all things to all men,<br />
to the uttermost that I could, with any clearness of heart: but since matters<br />
stand so, I must lose my place, or my peace, I cheerfully suffer myself to be<br />
thrust off the stage.<br />
And now welcome the cross of Christ,—welcome reproach,—welcome<br />
poverty, scorn and contempt, or whatever else may befall me on this account!<br />
This morning I had a flock, and you had a pastor; but now, behold a pastor<br />
without a flock,—a flock without a shepherd! This morning I had an house, but<br />
now I have none! This morning I had a living, but now I have none! "The Lord<br />
hath given, and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."<br />
Beloved, I am sensible of many weaknesses and disadvantages I am under,<br />
which may render a suffering state the harder to be borne; help me by your<br />
prayers, and not me only, but all my brethren also, with whom my lot must fall;<br />
"Pray for us: for we trust that we have a good conscience, in all things willing to<br />
live honestly." Pray,<br />
1. That God would make our silence speak, and preach the same holy doctrine<br />
that we have preached with our lips.<br />
2. That he would give supports answerable to our sufferings; that he who<br />
comforteth those that are cast down, will also comfort his servants that are cast out.<br />
3. That, according to our earnest expectation, and our hope, as always, so now<br />
also, Christ may be magnified in us, whether it be by life or by death.<br />
And thus, brethren, I bid you all farewell, in the words of the apostle, 2 Cor. 13:11,<br />
"Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in<br />
peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." "And the God of peace,<br />
that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,<br />
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work<br />
to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus<br />
Christ; to whom be glory, for ever and ever. Amen."Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-53559032481543561712017-04-13T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-13T00:00:29.045-07:00Where our strength ends there God's omnipotence beginsFrom the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: <br />
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.<br /> Psalms 61:2<br /><br />Where our strength ends there God's omnipotence begins. Nature's extremity is<br />
God's opportunity. Again we repeat it, the end of the earth is the beginning of heaven. <br />
If the day should come when monarchs should banish God's people, their banishment<br />
would be an object of contempt, for can they banish the men that are strangers wherever<br />
they may be? Is not my Father's house a large one? Yon dome, the blue sky, its roof; the<br />
rolling seas, the swelling floods, the green meads, the huge mountains—are not these<br />
the floors of his house? And where can I be driven from the dominions of my God,<br />
and away from the voice of his love? Banishment to the Christian may seem a trouble,<br />
but if he looketh up and seeth his Father's house and beholdeth the smile of his God, he<br />
will know that banishment is to him an impossibility. But supposing us to be banished from<br />
every thing good and dear to us, even then we should not be banished from God's throne,<br />
"From the ends of the earth will I cry unto thee."<br /> Charles H. SpurgeonFloral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-44603911429358355142017-04-12T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-12T00:00:16.506-07:00God often affords the richest habitations and the greatest earthly plenty to the greatest sinners.....With what admirable wisdom has God ordered that there should be such<br />
variety of places for man's habitation! Sodom and Gomorrha were seated in the<br />
fruitful valley, the country near it was more barren and mountainous. Some countries<br />
are high, and thirsty, and barren; others low, and watered, and fruitful. God could have<br />
made the whole earth to have been alike in all places, and not so variously ordered; but<br />
this singular diversity excellently praises the wisdom of his providence. They who live in<br />
barren mountains, which are only watered by the showers of heaven, are compelled<br />
to acknowledge that they owe all their increase to a blessing from above. They who<br />
inhabit the fruitful valleys enriched with fountains and rivers, are admonished of the<br />
bounty of God's providence to them above others, in the plenty of their supplies. They<br />
who live in mountainous and barren places, show the goodness of God in sustaining<br />
them even in such places of scarcity, and that it is not necessary for man's presentation<br />
to live delicately; those who fare more hardly often living more healthfully than those<br />
who swim in great abundance. In a word, by this rariety, places are made helpful<br />
and beneficial one to another; some places abound with the blessings of one kind,<br />
some with those of another; the mountains with health, the valleys with wealth; the<br />
mountain wants the valley for supply of food, the valley is beholden to the mountain<br />
for strength and defence. Every place enjoys not every comfort, but is necessitated<br />
to crave supply from a neighbouring country. The city cannot live without the food of<br />
the country, nor the country without the coin and commodities of the city; the poor<br />
wants the rich, and the rich the poor: the one is helpful by his labours, the other by<br />
his rewards: the one by work, the other by wages, True is that of Solomon, The<br />
rich and the poor meet together, and the Lord is the Maker of them all, Prov. 22:2;<br />
who by this variety both advances the honour of his own wisdom, and provides<br />
for the good of human society,<br /> God often affords the richest habitations and the greatest earthly plenty to the<br />
greatest sinners. Sodom for wealth and fertility is compared to the garden of God, <br />and yet God bestows it upon the worst of men. Egypt and Babylon, abounding with<br />
waters and plenty, are given, not only to those who are <b>without</b> the church, but who<br />
are enemies <b>of</b> the church. In these countries God made his people slaves and captives;<br />
and truly it is safest for Israel to meet with most woe in places of most wealth. <br />
God gives his enemies their heaven, portion, their all in this life, Psalms 17:14; they<br />
here receive their good things; and have all in hand, nothing in hope; all in possession,<br />
nothing in future reversion. By this distribution of earthly plenty, God would have us<br />
see how slightly and meanly he esteems it. He throws the best things that this world<br />
affords upon the worst and, as Daniel speaks, the basest of men. Who but the Nimrods,<br />
the Nebuchadnezzars, the Alexanders, the Caesars, have ordinarily been the lords of the<br />
world? These have fleeted off the cream of earthly enjoyments, when the portion of saints<br />
has been thin, and lean, and poor. Some observe, that Daniel expresses the monarchies<br />
of the world by sundry sorts of cruel beasts; to show, that as they were gotten by beastly<br />
cruelty, so enjoyed with brutish sensuality. The great Turkish empire, said Luther, is but<br />
as a crust which God throws to a hungry dog. God sometimes indeed, lest riches should<br />
be accounted in themselves evil, gives them to the good; but ordinarily, lest they should be<br />
accounted the chief good, he bestows them upon the bad: oftener making them the<br />
portion of foes than of sons. What is it to receive, and not to be received; to have<br />
nothing from God but what he may give in hatred; to have, with Sodomites, a garden of<br />
God upon earth, with the loss of the true Paradise! in a word, to have no other dews of<br />
blessing but such as may be followed with showers of fire!<br />.....Rich cities have ever been the stoves of luxury. Men have natural inclinations according<br />
to the genius of their country; and it is rare to see religion flourish in a rich soil. In the<br />
scantiness of earthly enjoyments, want restrains and stints our appetites; but where there<br />
is abundance, and the measure is left to our own discretion, we seldom know what<br />
moderation means..... we had need of special grace at every turn, and of that watchfulness<br />
whereby in the midst of abundance we may not want temperance. How hard is it, with<br />
holy Paul, to know how to be full, and to abound! How holy is that man who can be<br />
chaste, temperate, heavenly in Sodom! Let us not only be content to want, but even<br />
pray against those riches which may occasion us, full, to deny God, Prov. 30:8-9. It<br />
is a most unwise choice, with Lot, to leave Abraham to inhabit Sodom....<br /> William Jenkyn Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-32834045748579184282017-04-11T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-11T00:00:35.696-07:00Lord, thou hast been my dwelling-place throughout all generationsLord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. <br /> Psalms 90:1<br /><br />.....behold the contrast which Moses, the man of God, discerns with gratitude,<br />
"Thou art not our tent, but thou art our dwelling-place. Though we are uneasy here,<br />
though we are tossed from side to side by troubles, though we travel through a wilderness,<br />
and find it a rough pathway, though when we sit down here we know not what comfort<br />
means, O Lord, in thee we possess all the comfort which a house can afford, we have<br />
all that a mansion or palace can give the prince, who can loll upon his couch, and rest<br />
upon his bed of down. Lord, thou art to us comfort, thou art a house and habitation." <br />
Have you ever known what it is to have God for your dwelling-place in the sense of<br />
comfort? Do you know what it is, when you have storms behind you, to feel like a<br />
sea-bird, blown to the land by the very storm?.....Do you know what it is, when you<br />
are tossed on the waves, to go down into the depths of Godhead, there rejoicing that<br />
not a wave of trouble ruffles your spirit, but that you are serenely at home with God<br />
your own Almighty Father? Can you, amid all the uneasiness of this desert journey,<br />
find a comfort there? Is the breast of Jesus a sweet pillow for your head? Can you,<br />
lie thus on the breast of Deity? Can you put yourself in the stream of Providence and<br />
float along without a struggle, while angels sing around you -- divinely guided, divinely<br />
led -- "We are bearing thee along the stream of Providence to the ocean of eternal bliss!" <br />
Do you know what it is to lie on God, to give up all care, to drive anxiety away, and<br />
there -- not in a recklessness of spirit, but in a holy carelessness -- to be careful for<br />
nothing, "but in every thing by supplication to make known your wants unto God?" <br />
If so you have gained the first idea; "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place<br />
throughout all generations.”<br />.....My hearers, what a pity it is that we have to divide our congregation, that we<br />
can not speak to you in a mass as being all Christians. This morning, I would I could<br />
take God's word and address it to you all, that you all might share the sweet promises<br />
it contains. But some of you would not have them if I were to offer them. Some of you<br />
despise Christ, my blessed Master. Many of you think sin to be a trifle, and grace to be<br />
worthless, heaven to be a vision, and hell to be a fiction. Some of you are careless, and<br />
hardened, and thoughtless, without God, and without Christ.....<br /> One word by way of warning. Do you know, poor soul, that you have not a house<br />
to live in? You have a house for your body but no house for your soul. Have you ever<br />
seen a poor girl at midnight sitting down on a door-step crying? Somebody passes by,<br />
and says, "Why do you sit here?" "I have no house, sir. I have no home." "Where is<br />
your father?" "My father's dead, sir." "Where is your mother?" "I have no mother, sir." <br />
"Have you no friends?" "No friends at all." "Have you no house?" "No; I have none. <br />
I am houseless." And she shivers in the chill air, and gathers her poor ragged shawl<br />
around her, and cries again, "I have no house -- I have no home." Would you not pity her?<br />
Would you blame her for her tears? Ah! there are some of you that have houseless souls<br />
here this morning. It is something to have a houseless body; but to think of a houseless soul! <br />
Methinks I see you in eternity sitting on the door-step of heaven. An angel says,<br />
"What! have you no house to live in?" "No house," says the poor soul. "Have you no<br />
father?" "No; God is not my father; and there is none beside him."...."Have you no house,<br />
then?" "No; I am a houseless soul." But there is one thing worse about that -- houseless<br />
souls have to be sent into hell; to a dungeon, to a lake that burns with fire.....Poor houseless<br />
soul, dost thou want a house? I have a house to let this morning for every sinner who feels<br />
his misery. Do you want a house for your soul? Then I will condescend to men of low<br />
estate, and tell you in homely language, that I have a house to let. Do you ask me what is<br />
the purchase? I will tell you; it is something less than proud human nature will like to give. <br />
It is without money and without price. Ah! you would like to pay some rent wouldn't you? <br />
You would love to do something to win Christ. You can not have the house then; it is<br />
"without money and without price." I have told you enough of the house itself, and therefore<br />
I will not describe its excellences. But I will tell you one thing -- that if you feel that you are<br />
a houseless soul this morning, you may have the key to-morrow; and if you feel yourself to be a<br />
houseless soul to-day, you may enter it now. If you had a house of your own I would not<br />
offer it to you; but since you have no other, here it is. Will you take my Master's house on a<br />
lease for all eternity, with nothing to pay for it, nothing but the ground-rent of loving and<br />
serving him forever? Will you take Jesus, and dwell in him throughout eternity? or will you<br />
be content to be a houseless soul? Come inside, sir; see, it is furnished from top to bottom<br />
with all you want. It has cellars filled with gold, more than you will spend as long as you live;<br />
it hath a parlor where you can entertain yourself with Christ, and feast on his love; it has tables<br />
well stored with food for you to live on for-ever; it hath a drawing-room of brotherly love<br />
where you can receive your friends. You will find a resting room up there where you can rest with<br />
Jesus; and on the top there is a look-out, whence you can see heaven itself. Will you have the<br />
house, or will you not? Ah! if you are houseless, you will say, "I should like to have the house;<br />
but may I have it?" Yes; there is the key. The key is, "Come to Jesus." But, you say, "I am too<br />
shabby for such a house." Never mind; there are garments inside.....<br /> If you feel guilty and condemned, come, and though the house is too good for you, Christ<br />
will make you good enough for the house by-and-by. He will wash you, and cleanse you,<br />
and you will yet be able to sing with Moses, with the same unfaltering voice, "Lord, thou hast<br />
been my dwelling-place throughout all generations.” <br /> Charles H. Spurgeon <br />
Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-20033465861119322712017-04-10T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-10T00:00:10.912-07:00“He loved us and gave Himself for us, and we have washed our robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”<br />There is singing up in heaven such as we have never known,<br />Where the angels sing the praises of the Lamb upon the throne;<br />Their sweet harps are ever tuneful and their voices always clear,<br />Oh, that we might be more like them while we serve the Master here.<br /><br />But I hear another anthem, blending voices clear and strong,<br />“Unto Him who hath redeemed us and hath bought us,” is the song;<br />We have come thro’ tribulations to this land so fair and bright,<br />In the fountain freely flowing He hath made our garments white.<br /><br />Then the angels stand and listen, for they cannot join that song,<br />Like the sound of many waters, by that happy blood-washed throng;<br />For they sing about great trials, battles fought and vict’ries won,<br />And they praise their great Redeemer who hath said to them, “well done.”<br />
<br />
So, although I’m no an angel, yet I know that over there<br />I will join a blessed chorus that the angels cannot share;<br />I will sing about my Savior who upon dark Calvary<br />Freely pardoned my transgressions, died to set a sinner free.<br /><br />Chorus<br />Holy, holy, is what the angels sing,<br />And I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring;<br />But when I sing redemption’s story they will fold their wings,<br />For angels never felt the joys that our salvation brings.<br /> Rev. Johnson Oatman, Jr.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing<br />
many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 2:10<br /><br /> Oh, my brothers and sisters, what delight and transport will seize the minds of those<br />
who are redeemed! How will God be glorified then! Why, every wound of Christ will<br />
cause an everlasting song! As we shall circle His throne, rejoicing, will not this be the<br />
very summit of all our harmony—“You were slain, and have redeemed us unto God by<br />
Your blood”? We must not say what God could do, or could not do, but it does seem<br />
to me that by no process of creation could He have ever made such beings as we shall be<br />
when we are brought to heaven; for if He had made us perfect, then we would have stood<br />
through our own holiness; or if He had forgiven us without an atonement, then we would<br />
never have seen His justice, nor His amazing love. But in heaven we shall be creatures<br />
who feel that we have everything, but deserve nothing; creatures who have been the<br />
objects of the most wonderful love, and therefore, so mightily attached to our Lord, that<br />
it would be impossible for a thousand Satans ever to lead us astray!<br /> Again—we shall be such servants as even the angels cannot be, for we shall feel<br />
under deeper obligation to God than even they! They are but created happy; we shall be<br />
redeemed by the blood of God’s dear Son, and I am sure, brothers and sisters, day without<br />
night we shall circle God’s throne rejoicing, having more happiness than the angels, for they<br />
do not know what evil is, but we shall have known it to the fullest—and yet shall be perfectly<br />
free from it! They do not know what pain is, but we shall have known pain, and grief, and<br />
death—and yet shall be immortal! They do not know what it is to fall, but we shall look<br />
down to the depths of hell and remember that this could have been our portion. Oh, how<br />
we will sing, how we will chant His praise, and this, I say again, shall be the highest note,<br />
that we owe all to that bright one, that Lamb in the midst of the throne! We will tell it over,<br />
and over, and over again, and find it an inexhaustible theme for melodious joy and<br />
song—that He became man, that He sweat great drops of blood, that He died, that He<br />
rose again! While the angels are singing, “Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah,” we<br />
will bid them stop the song a moment, while we say, “He whom you thus adore was once<br />
covered with bloody sweat.” As we cast our crowns at His feet, we will say, “And He was<br />
once despised and rejected of men.” Lifting up our eyes and saluting Him as God over all,<br />
blessed forever, we will remember the reed, the sponge, the vinegar, and the nails; and<br />
as we come to Him, and have fellowship with Him, He shall lead us beside the living<br />
fountains of water! And we will remember the black brook of Kedron of which He<br />
drank, and the awful depths of the grave into which He descended. Amid all the<br />
splendors of heaven we shall never forget the agony, and misery, and dishonor of earth;<br />
and even when they sing the loudest sonnets of God’s love, and power, and grace, we<br />
will sing this after all, and before all, and above all, that Jesus, the Son of God died for<br />
us, and this shall be our ever-lasting song—“He loved us and gave Himself for us, and<br />
we have washed our robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” <br /> Charles H. Spurgeon <br />
<br />
<br />Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-46763841962297416102017-04-09T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-09T00:00:11.511-07:00Jesus, the Redeemer, is altogether ours, and ours foreverPensive, doubting, fearful heart,<br />
Hear what Christ the Saviour says; <br />
Every word should joy impart,<br />
Change thy mourning into praise:<br />
Yes, He speaks, and speaks to thee,<br />
May He help thee to believe!<br />
Then thou presently wilt see,<br />
Thou hast little cause to grieve.<br />
<br />
"Fear thou not, nor be ashamed,<br />
All thy sorrows soon shall end:<br />
I who heaven and earth have framed<br />
Am thy Husband and thy Friend:<br />
I the High and Holy One,<br />
Israel's God by all adored,<br />
As thy Saviour will be known,<br />
Thy Redeemer and thy Lord.<br />
<br />
For a moment I withdrew,<br />
And thy heart was fill'd with pain;<br />
But my mercies I'll renew,<br />
Thou shalt soon rejoice again:<br />
Though I seem to hide my face,<br />
Very soon my wrath shall cease;<br />
'Tis but for a moment's space,<br />
Ending in eternal peace.<br />
<br />
When my peaceful bow appears,<br />
Painted on the watery cloud;<br />
'Tis to dissipate thy fears,<br />
Lest the earth should be o'erflow'd:<br />
'Tis an emblem too of grace,<br />
Of my covenant love a sign;<br />
Though the mountains leave their place,<br />
Thou shalt be for ever mine.<br />
<br />
Though afflicted, tempest-toss'd,<br />
Comfortless awhile thou art,<br />
Do not think thou canst be lost,<br />
Thou art graven on my heart:<br />
All thy wastes I will repair,<br />
Thou shalt be rebuilt anew;<br />
And in thee it shall appear<br />
What a God of love can do."<br />
William Cowper<br />
<br />
<br />
For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy<br />
Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. <br />
Isa 54:5<br />
<br />
Jesus, the Redeemer, is altogether ours, and ours forever. All the offices of<br />
Christ are held on our behalf. He is king for us, priest for us, and prophet for us<br />
Whenever we read a new title of the Redeemer, let us appropriate Him as ours under<br />
that name as much as under any other. The shepherd's staff, the father's rod, the captain's<br />
sword, the priest's mitre, the prince's sceptre, the prophet's mantle, all are ours. Jesus<br />
hath no dignity which he will not employ for our exaltation, and no prerogative which he<br />
will not exercise for our defence. His fulness of <b>Godhead</b> is our unfailing, inexhaustible<br />
treasure-house. <br />
His <b>manhood</b> also, which He took upon Him for us, is ours in all its perfection. To us<br />
our gracious Lord communicates the spotless virtue of a stainless character; to us He gives<br />
the meritorious efficacy of a devoted life; on us He bestows the reward procured by<br />
obedient submission and incessant service. He makes the unsullied garment of His life<br />
our covering beauty; the glittering virtues of His character our ornaments and jewels; and<br />
the superhuman meekness of His death our boast and glory. He bequeaths us His manger,<br />
from which to learn how God came down to man; and His Cross to teach us how man may<br />
go up to God. All His thoughts, emotions, actions, utterances, miracles, and intercessions,<br />
were for us. He trod the road of sorrow on our behalf, and hath made over to us as His<br />
heavenly legacy the full results of all the labors of His life. He is now as much ours as<br />
heretofore; and He blushes not to acknowledge Himself "<b>our</b> Lord Jesus Christ," though<br />
He is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Christ<br />
everywhere and every way is our Christ, forever and ever most richly to enjoy. O my<br />
soul, by the power of the Holy Spirit call Him this morning, "thy Redeemer."<br />
Charles H. Spurgeon. Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-74566450568313935682017-04-08T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-08T00:00:26.057-07:00Believers meet with rubs and disappointments, which convince them, that if they obtain any thing, it is the Lord must do it for themTo the Reverend Mr. R.-------Letter 7<br /><br />July 6, 1776<br />Dear Sir,<br /> <br />.....To me you seem to be in a tolerable fair way: but I know, in affairs of this<br />
kind, Mr. Self does not like suspense, but would willingly come to the point at once: <br />
but Mr. Faith (when he gets liberty to hold up his head) will own, that in order to make<br />
our temporal mercies wear well, and to give us a clearer sense of the hand that bestows<br />
them, a waiting and a praying time are very seasonable. Worldly people expect their<br />
schemes to run upon all fours, as we say, and the objects of their wishes to drop into<br />
their mouths without difficulty; and if they succeed, they of course burn incense to their<br />
own drag, and say, This was my doing: but believers meet with rubs and disappointments,<br />
which convince them, that if they obtain any thing, it is the Lord must do it for them. For <br />this reason I observe that he usually brings a death upon our prospects, even when it is<br />
his purpose to give us success in the issue. Thus we become more assured that we did<br />
not act in our own spirits, and have a more satisfactory view that his providence has been<br />
concerned in filling up the rivers and removing the mountains that were in our way. Then,<br />
when he has given us our desire, how pleasant it is to look at it, and say, This I got not<br />
by my own sword, and my own bow, but I wrestled for it in prayer, I waited for it in<br />
faith, I put it into the Lord's hand, and from his hand I received it.<br /> You have met with the story of one of our kings (if I mistake not) who wanted to<br />
send a nobleman abroad as his ambassador, and he desired to be excused on account<br />
of some affairs which required his presence at home: the king answered, "Do you take<br />
care of my business, and I will take care of yours." I would have you think the Lord says<br />
thus to you.....Watch in all things; endure afflictions; do the work of an evangelist; make<br />
full proof of your ministry: and when other thoughts rise in your mind (for you have no<br />
door to shut them quite out), run with them to the throne of grace, and commit them<br />
to the Lord. Satan will perhaps try to force them upon you unseasonably and<br />
inordinately; but if he sees they drive you to prayer, he will probably desist, rather<br />
than be the occasion of doing you so much good. Believe, likewise, that as the Lord<br />
has the appointment of the person, so he fixes the time. His time is like the time of the<br />
tide; all the art and power of man can neither hasten or retard it a moment: it must be<br />
waited for: nothing can be done without it, and when it comes, nothing can resist it. It is<br />
unbelief that talks of delays; faith knows that properly there can be no such thing. The<br />
only reason why the Lord seems to delay what he afterwards grants, is, that the best hour<br />
is not yet come. I know you have been enabled to commit and resign your all to his<br />
disposal. You did well. May he help you to stand to the surrender. Sometimes he<br />
will put us to the trial, whether we mean what we say. He takes his course in a way<br />
we did not expect; and then, alas! how often does the trial put us to shame! Presently<br />
there is an outcry raised in the soul against his management: this is wrong, that<br />
unnecessary, the other has spoiled the whole plan: in short, all these things are<br />
against us. And then we go into the pulpit, and gravely tell the people how wise<br />
and how good he is, and preach submission to his will, not only as a duty, but a<br />
privilege! Alas! how deceitful is the heart! Yet, since it is, and will be so, it is necessary<br />
we should know it by experience. We have reason, however, to say, He is good and<br />
wise; for he bears with our perverseness, and in the event shows us, that if he had listened<br />
to our murmurings, and taken the methods we would have prescribed to him, we should<br />
have been ruined indeed, and that he has been all the while doing us good in spite of ourselves.<br /> If I judge right, you will find your way providentially opened more and more; and yet<br />
it is possible, that when you begin to think yourself sure, something may happen to put<br />
you in a panic again. But a believer, like a sailor, is not to be surprised if the wind changes,<br />
but to learn the art of suiting himself to all winds for the time: and though many a poor sailor<br />
is shipwrecked, the poor believer shall gain his port. Oh, it is good sailing with an infallible<br />
pilot at the helm, who has the wind and weather at his command!<br /> John Newton Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-34450727360000206082017-04-07T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-07T00:00:25.531-07:00Jesus has come and gone – come, because God loved the world – gone, because the world hated GodYe simple souls that stray<br />Far from the path of peace,<br />That lonely, unfrequented way<br />To life and happiness,<br />Why will ye folly love,<br />And throng the downward road,<br />And hate the wisdom from above,<br />And mock the sons of God?<br /><br />So wretched and obscure,<br />The men whom ye despise,<br />So foolish, impotent, and poor,-<br />Above your scorn we rise:<br />We through the Holy Ghost,<br />Can witness better things;<br />For he whose blood is all our boast,<br />Hath made us priests and kings.<br />
<br />
Riches unsearchable<br />In Jesus’ love we know;<br />And pleasures springing from the well<br />Of life, our souls o’erflow:<br />The Spirit we receive<br />Of wisdom, grace, and power;<br />And always sorrowful we live,<br />Rejoicing evermore.<br /><br />Angels our servants are,<br />And keep in all our ways,<br />And in their watchful hands they bear<br />The sacred sons of grace:<br />Unto that heavenly bliss<br />They all our steps attend;<br />And God himself our Father is,<br />And Jesus is our friend.<br /> John Wesley<br />
<br />
<br />
Let us turn, for a moment, to the sixty-ninth psalm, which so vividly presents<br />
our blessed and adorable Lord suffering from the hand of man, and appealing<br />to God for vengeance.....<br /> But let us look at the other side of the picture. Turn to the twenty-second psalm,<br />
which presents the Blessed One suffering under the hand of God. Here the result is<br />
wholly different. Instead of judgment and vengeance, it is universal and everlasting<br />
blessedness and glory..... <br /> These two quotations present, with great distinctness, the two aspects of the death<br />
of Christ. He died, as a martyr, for righteousness, under the hand of man. For this<br />
man will have to account to God. But He died, as a victim, for sin, under the hand<br />
of God. This is the foundation of all blessing to those that believe in His Name. His<br />
martyr sufferings bring down wrath and judgment upon a godless world: His atoning<br />
sufferings open up the everlasting well-springs of life and salvation to the Church, to<br />
Israel, and to the whole creation. The death of Jesus consummates the world's guilt;<br />
but secures the Church's acceptance. The world is stained, and the Church purged,<br />
by the blood of the cross.<br /> Such is the double bearing of the first of our three great New Testament facts. <br />
Jesus has come and gone – come, because God loved the world – gone, because<br />
the world hated God. If God were to ask the question – and He will ask it – "What<br />
have you done with My Son?" What is the answer? "We hated Him, cast Him out,<br />
and crucified Him. We preferred a robber to Him."<br /> But, blessed forever be the God of all grace, the Christian, the true believer,<br />
can look up to heaven and say, "My absent Lord is there, and there for me. He is<br />
gone from this wretched world, and His absence makes the entire scene around me a<br />
moral wilderness – a desolate waste.”<br /> C. H. Mackintosh<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-4910498865268927252017-04-06T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-06T00:00:26.631-07:00What shall we be, and whither shall we goWhat shall we be, and whither shall we go,<br />When the last conflict of our life is o'er,<br />And we return from wandering to and fro<br />To our dear home through heaven's eternal door;<br />When we shake off the last dust from our feet,<br />When we wipe off the last drop from our brow,<br />And our departed friends once more we greet,<br />The hope which cheers and comforts us below?<br /><br />What shall we be, when we ourselves shall see<br />Bathed in the flood of everlasting light,<br />And from all guilt and sin entirely free,<br />Stand pure and blameless in our Maker's sight,<br />No longer from His holy presence driven,<br />Conscious of guilt, and stung with inward pain,<br />But friends of God and citizens of heaven,<br />To join the ranks of His celestial train?<br /><br />What shall we be, when we drink in the sound<br />Of heavenly music from the spheres above,<br />When golden harps to listening hosts around<br />Declare the wonders of redeeming love;<br />When far and wide through the resounding air<br />Loud Hallelujahs from the ransomed rise,<br />And holy incense, sweet with praise and prayer,<br />Is wafted to the Highest through the skies?<br />
<br />
What shall we be, when the freed soul shall rise<br />With unrestrained and bold aspiring flight<br />To Him, who by His wondrous sacrifice<br />Hath opened heaven, and scattered sin's dark night;<br />When from the eye of faith the thin veil drops,<br />Like wreaths of mist before the morning's rays,<br />And we behold, the end of all our hopes,<br />The Son of God in full refulgent blaze?<br /><br />What shall we be, when we shall hear Him say,<br />"Come, O ye blessed;" when we see Him stand,<br />Robed in the light of everlasting day,<br />Before the throne of God at His right hand;<br />When we behold the eyes from which once flowed<br />Tears o'er the sin and misery of man,<br />And the deep wounds from which the precious blood,<br />That made atonement for the world, once ran?<br /><br />What shall we be, when hand in hand we go<br />With blessed spirits risen from the tomb,<br />Where streams of living water softly flow,<br />And trees still flourish in primeval bloom;<br />Where in perpetual youth no cheek looks old<br />By the sharp touch of cruel time imprest,<br />Where no bright eye is dimm'd, no heart grows cold,<br />No grief, no pain, no death invades the blest?<br />
<br />
What shall we be, when every glance we cast<br />At the dark valley underneath our feet,<br />And every retrospect of troubles past<br />Makes heaven brighter and its joys more sweet;<br />When the remembrance of our earthly woe<br />Gives a new relish to our heavenly peace,<br />And draws our heart to Him, to whom we owe<br />Our past deliverance and our present bliss?<br /><br />What shall we be, who have in Christ believed?<br />What through His grace will be our sweet reward?<br />Eye hath not seen, ear heard, or heart conceived,<br />What God for those who love Him hath prepared.<br />Let us the steep ascent then boldly climb,<br />Our toil and labour will be well repaid;<br />Let us haste onward, till in God's good time<br />We reap the fruit, a crown that doth not fade.<br /> C. J. P. Spitta, <br /> trans by H. Massie<br />
<br />
<br />
I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. <br />
Psalms 130:5<br /><br />.....while we live here we are always children of hope; not miserable, because we<br />
have a sweet taste of what we hope for, and not perfectly happy, because we want<br />
fulness. Before Christ they hoped for his coming in the flesh; since Christ, we look<br />
for his 'second coming in glory;' in grace we look for glory; and when our souls are in<br />
glory, they look for the redemption of the bodies, and for the day of restoring of all<br />
things. 'How long, Lord, how long?' Rev. 6:10. Else would this life be heaven to us;<br />
and we should not desire or pray, 'Lord, let thy kingdom come.’.....<b>This should whet </b><br />
<b>in us our desires and prayers for our heavenly estate</b>; and not make our heaven<br />
here on earth, but desire earnestly the full harvest, by considering how excellent the<br />
first-fruits of glory in this life are; and with the creature, Rom. 8:19, 'wait, and expect,<br />
and long, and groan for the time of the dissolution of all things;' and make this a note to<br />
<b>discern of our estate</b>; for it is a certain infallible token of a good frame of spirit in us,<br />
if we can long for that better life in the fulness, that we have here; that we can desire<br />
to be with Christ. Furthermore, note this <b>as a difference</b> <b>between the estates of </b><br />
<b>the wicked and the godly</b>. The wicked must look for worse and worse continually. <br />
His best is here, and while he hath this world; but the godly, their worst is here, their<br />
best is to come. <br /> Richard Sibbes, D.D. <br />
<br />
<br />Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-39023393183100040092017-04-05T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-05T00:00:07.509-07:00Brethren, Christ is real in all that he speaks unto you<b>The following is a part of a letter written by Reverend Joseph Alleine - </b><br />
<b>August 11, 1665. </b><br /><br /> Brethren, understand mine office;—I preach not myself, but the Lord Jesus Christ,<br />
and myself your servant for Jesus’ sake. Give him your hearts, and I have my errand. <br />
I am but the friend of the bridegroom, and my business is but to give you to understand<br />
his love, and to gain your hearts unto him. He is an object worthy of my commendations<br />
and of your affections. His love is worth the writing of, and worth the thinking of, and<br />
worth the speaking of. O my brethren, never forget, I beseech you, how he loveth you. <br />
He is in heaven, and you are on earth: he is in glory, and you in rags; he is in the shining<br />
throne, and you in dirty flesh;—and yet he loveth you. His heart is infinitely tender<br />
over you, even now while he is at the right hand of the Majesty on high. How feelingly<br />
doth he cry out at the hurt of his poor members on earth, <b>Saul, Saul why persecutest </b><br />
<b>thou me</b>? Oh, of what quick sense is the sense of our dear Lord unto us! When we<br />
are touched on earth he feels it in heaven.<br /> Brethren, Christ is real in all that he speaks unto you. He is not like a flourishing<br />
lover, who fills up his letters with rhetoric, and hath more care of the dress of his<br />
speech than of the truth. Who ever gave demonstration of the reality of his love at<br />
so dear a rate as Christ hath done? Men do not use to die in jest. Who will impoverish<br />
himself to enrich his friend? And divest himself of his honour to advance him? And<br />
debase himself to admiration below his own degree to contract affinity with him? <br />
And all this but to make him believe that he loves him?<br /> Brethren, possess your very hearts with this, that Christ's love doth go out with<br />
infinite dearness towards you. Even now, while he is in all his glory, he earnestly<br />
remembers you still. This is the High Priest that now is entered into the holy of holies,<br />
doth bear your names particulary, remembering every poor believer by name. He<br />
bears your names, —but where? "upon his breast-plate, upon his heart," saith<br />
the text, Exodus 28:29. Ah! Christians, I may salute you as the angel did Mary,<br />
<b>Hail you that are highly favoured: Blessed are you among men</b>. Sure<br />
your lot is fallen in a happy place. What! in the bosom of Christ? Yea, and verily<br />
you may believe, and doubt not. I may apply that of Gabriel, <b>O Daniel, thou art </b><br />
<b>greatly</b> <b>beloved</b>, unto you; you are beloved indeed, to have your names written<br />
upon the very heart of Christ, now he is in glory.<br /> Oh, let his name be written then on your hearts. Do not write his name in the<br />
sand when he hath written yours upon his <b>own breast</b>! Do not forget him who<br />
hath taken such care, that where he is, he may never forget you, having recorded<br />
your names only on his book, but on his flesh, and set you as a seal upon his heart. <br />
He hath you upon his heart,—but why? "For a memorial before the Lord continually,"<br />
so saith the text. Beloved, your Lord is so far from forgetting you in all his greatness<br />
and glory, that he is gone into heaven on purpose, there to present you before the<br />
Lord, that you may be always in remembrance before him. O beloved, glory, yea,<br />
and triumph in his love. Doubtless it must go well with us. Who shall condemn? <br />
It is Christ that died, and rose again, and is now making intercession. His interest is<br />
potent. He is always present. Our advocate is never out of court. Never did cause<br />
miscarry in his hand. Trust you safely in him. Happy is that man for whom he shall<br />
undertake to speak.<br /> Oh, the riches of Christ's love! He did not think it enough to die for you. His<br />
love and care doth not end with his natural life on earth, but "he ever liveth to make<br />
intercession for us." His love is like his life, ever and ever; knowing no remission in<br />
degree, nor intermission of time, no cessation of working, but is ever, ever in motion<br />
towards us.<br /> But when shall I end, if I suffer my soul to run out its length, and my running pen to<br />
enlarge according to the dimensions of this boundless field of divine love? If the pens<br />
of all the world were employed to write volumes of love; if the tongues of all the living<br />
were exercised in nothing else but talking of this love; if all the hearts that be were made<br />
up of love: and all the powers and affections of the mind were turned into one, to wit,<br />
the power of love; yet this were no less than infinitely too little, either to conceive, or to<br />
express the greatness of Christ's love.<br /> O my dearly beloved, may your souls be swallowed up in this love. Think, and think<br />
while you will, you can never think how much you are beloved. See that ye love again,<br />
by way of gratitude, though not of requital. What though, your souls be but narrow,<br />
and your powers but little, yet love him with all you have. Love him with all your hearts,<br />
and all your strength. To the meditations, and to the embraces of divine love I leave<br />
you, thinking it now not worth while to tell you of my love, remaining<br /> Yours in the bonds <br /> of your most dear Lord Jesus,<br /> Joseph Alleine. <br /> Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-83776329885844214582017-04-04T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-04T00:00:14.447-07:00The heathen raged6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice,<br />
the earth melted.<br />7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.<br />8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in<br />
the earth.<br />9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow,<br />
and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.<br />10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen,<br />
I will be exalted in the earth.<br />11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. <br /> Psalms 46:6-11<br /><br /> I. As King of nations, ruling the world by his power and providence, and<br />
overruling all the affairs of the children of men to his own glory; he does according<br />
to his will among the inhabitants of the earth, and none may say,<b> What doest thou</b>?<br /> 1. He checks the rage and breaks the power of the nations that oppose him<br />
and his interests in the world (v. 6)....<br />
2. When he pleases to draw his sword, and give it commission, he can make<br />
great havoc among the nations and lay all waste (v. 8).....<br /> 3. When he pleases to sheathe his sword, he puts an end to the wars of the<br />
nations and crowns them with peace, v. 9.....<br /> II. As King of saints, and as such we must own that <b>great and marvellous are </b><br />
<b>his works, Rev. 15:3</b>. He does and will do great things,<br /> 1. For his own glory (v. 10): <b>Be still, and know that I am God</b>.<br /> (1.) Let his enemies be still, and threaten no more, but know it, to their terror,<br />
that he is God, one infinitely above them, and that will certainly be too hard for them;<br />
let them rage no more, for it is all in vain: he that sits in heaven, laughs at them; and, in<br />
spite of all their impotent malice against his name and honour, he will be exalted<br />
among the heathen and not merely among his own people, he will be exalted in the<br />
earth and not merely in the church. Men will set up themselves, will have their own<br />
way and do their own will; but let them know that God will be exalted, he will have<br />
his way will do his own will, will glorify his own name, and wherein they deal proudly<br />
he will be above them, and make them know that he is so. (2.) Let his own people<br />
be still; let them be calm and sedate, and tremble no more, but know, to their comfort,<br />
that the Lord is God, he is God alone, and will be exalted above the heathen; let him<br />
alone to maintain his honour, to fulfil his own counsels and to support his own interest<br />
in the world. Though we be depressed, yet let us not be dejected, for we are sure<br />
that God will be exalted, and that may satisfy us; he will work for his great name, and<br />
then no matter what becomes of our little names. When we pray,<b> Father, glorify thy</b><br />
<b>name</b>, we ought to exercise faith upon the answer given to that prayer when Christ<br />
himself prayed it, <b>I have both glorified it and I will glorify it yet again</b>. Amen, Lord,<br />
so be it.<br /> 2. For his people's safety and protection. He triumphs in the former: I will be<br />
exalted; they triumph in this, v. 7 and again v. 11. It is the burden of the song, "<b>The</b><br />
<b>Lord of hosts is with us</b>; he is on our side, he takes our part, is present with us and<br />
president over us; <b>the God of Jacob is our refuge</b>, to whom we may flee, and in<br />
whom we may confide and be sure of safety." Let all believers triumph in this. <br />
(1.) They have the presence of a God of power, of all power: <b>The Lord of hosts</b><br />
<b>is with us</b>. God is the Lord of hosts, for he has all the creatures which are called<br />
<b>the hosts of heaven and earth</b> at his beck and command, and he makes what use<br />
he pleases of them, as the instruments either of his justice or of his mercy. This<br />
sovereign Lord is with us, sides with us, acts with us, and has promised he will<br />
never leave us. Hosts may be against us, but we need not fear them if the Lord<br />
of hosts be with us. (2.) They are under the protection of a God in covenant,<br />
who not only is able to help them, but is engaged in honour and faithfulness to<br />
help them. He is the God of Jacob, not only Jacob the person, but Jacob the people;<br />
nay, and of all praying people, the spiritual seed of wrestling Jacob; and he is our<br />
refuge, by whom we are sheltered and in whom we are satisfied, who by his providence<br />
secures our welfare when without are fightings, and who by his grace quiets our minds,<br />
and establishes them, when within are fears. The Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob,<br />
has been, is, and will be with us--has been, is and will be our refuge: the original includes<br />
all; and well may <b>Selah</b> be added to it. Mark this, and take the comfort of it, and say,<br />
<b>If God be for us, who can be against us</b>?<br /> Matthew Henry<br /><br />Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-71132478205864474472017-04-03T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-03T00:00:00.173-07:00Christ, from whom all blessings flow Christ, from whom all blessings flow,<br /> Perfecting the saints below,<br /> Hear us, who thy nature share,<br /> Who thy mystic body are.<br /> Join us, in one spirit join,<br /> Let us still receive of thine;<br />
Still for more on thee we call,<br /> Thou who fillest all in all.<br /><br /> Move and actuate, and guide,<br /> Divers gifts to each divine;<br /> Placed according to thy will,<br /> Let us all our work fulfill;<br /> Never from our office move;<br /> Needful to each other prove;<br /> Let us daily growth receive,<br /> More and more in Jesus live.<br /><br /> Sweetly may we all agree,<br /> Touched with softest sympathy;<br /> Kindly for each other care;<br /> Every member feel its share.<br /> Many are we now and one,<br /> We who Jesus have put on;<br /> Names, and sects, and parties fall;<br /> Thou, O Christ, art all in all.<br /> Charles WesleyFloral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-46946444477812822082017-04-02T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-02T00:00:03.902-07:00Great is the mystery of godlinessAnd, without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God manifested<br />
in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles,<br />
believed on in the world, received up to glory. 1 Timothy 3:16<br /><br /> All the graces are mysteries, every grace. Let a man once know it, and he shall<br />
find that there is a mystery in faith; that the earthly soul of man should be carried above<br />
itself, to believe supernatural truths, and to depend upon that he sees not, to sway the<br />
life by reasons spiritual; that the heart of man should believe; that a man in trouble should<br />
carry himself quietly and patiently, from supernatural supports and grounds, it is a mystery. <br />
That a man should be as a rock in the midst of a storm, to stand unmoveable, it is a mystery. <br />
That the carriage of the soul should be turned universally another way; that the judgment<br />
and affections should be turned backward, as it were; that he that was proud before<br />
should now be humble; that he that was ambitious before should now despise the vain<br />
world; that he that was given to his lusts and vanities before should now, on the contrary,<br />
be serious and heavenly-minded: here is a mystery indeed when all is turned backward. <br />
Therefore we see how Nicodemus, as wise as he was, it was a riddle to him when our<br />
blessed Saviour spake to him of the new birth, that a man should be wholly changed and<br />
new moulded; that a man should be the same; the same man for soul and body, yet not<br />
the same in regard of a supernatural life and being put into him, carrying him another way,<br />
leading him in another manner, by other rules and respects, as much different from other<br />
men as a man differs from a beast. A strange mystery, that raiseth a man above other<br />
men, as much as another man is above other creatures. For a man to be content with his<br />
condition, in all changes and varieties, when he is cast and tossed up and down in the<br />
world, to have a mind unmoveable, it is a mystery. Therefore St Paul saith,<br />
Philip. 4:11-12, 'I have entered into religion,' as it were, 'I have consecrated myself.' <br />
The word is wondrous significant. 'I have learned this mystery, to be content.' It is a<br />
mystery for a man to be tossed up and down, and yet to have a contented mind. 'I can<br />
want, and I can abound; I can do all through Christ that strengtheneth me.' Why? <br />
I have consecrated myself to Christ and religion, and from them I have learned this point,<br />
to be content. Therefore in the text here,—as we shall see afterwards,—not only divine<br />
truths are a mystery —'great is the mystery of godliness'—but he insists on particular<br />
graces, 'preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world:' these are mysteries.<br /> In Christ, all is mysteries: two natures, God and man, in one person; mortal and<br />
immortal; greatness and baseness; infiniteness and finiteness, in one person.<br /> The church itself is a mystical thing. For under baseness, under the scorn of the<br />
world, what is hid? A glorious people. The state of the church in this world, it is like a<br />
tree that is weather-beaten. The leaves and fruit are gone, but there is life in the root. <br />
So, what is the church? A company of men that are in the world without glory, without<br />
comeliness and beauty; yet notwithstanding, they have life in the root, a hidden life: <br />
'Our life is hid with Christ, in God,' Col. 3:3. The church hath a life, but it is a hidden<br />
mystical life, a life under death. They seem to die to the world, but they are alive. <br />
This is excellently and theoretically followed by St Paul: 'As dying, and yet we live;<br />
as poor, yet making many rich,' 2 Cor. 6:9. A strange kind of people; poor and rich,<br />
living and dying, glorious and base. Yet this is the state of the church here in this<br />
world. They are an excellent people, but they are veiled under infirmities of their<br />
own, and the disgraces and persecutions of the world. So we see both the doctrine<br />
itself, and the graces, and the head of the church, and the church itself, are nothing<br />
but mysteries.<br /> Richard Sibbes, D.D. <br />
<br />Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-18488968423544252082017-04-01T00:00:00.000-07:002017-04-01T00:00:12.626-07:00Charge them that are rich in this worldCharge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor<br />
trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things<br />
to enjoy I Timothy 6:17<br /><br /> Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded. One<br />
of the evils to which they are particularly exposed. The idea is, that they should<br />
not value themselves on account of their wealth, or look down with pride and<br />
arrogance on their inferiors. They should not suppose that they are any better men,<br />
or any nearer heaven, because they are wealthy. Property really makes no distinction<br />
in the great things that pertain to character and salvation. It does not necessarily make<br />
one wise, or learned, or great, or good. In all these things, the man who has not<br />
wealth may be vastly the superior of him who has; and for so slight and unimportant<br />
a distinction as gold can confer, no man should be proud. Besides, let such a man<br />
reflect that his property is the gift of God; that he is made rich because God has<br />
chosen to arrange things so that he should be; that it is not primarily owing to any<br />
skill or wisdom which he has; that his property only increases his responsibility,<br />
and that it must all soon be left, and he be as poor as the 'beggar that lies at his gate;'<br />
and he will see ample reason why he should not be proud. Nor trust in uncertain riches. <br />
Marg., The uncertainty of. The margin expresses the meaning of the Greek more<br />
accurately than the text, but the sense is not materially varied. Riches are uncertain<br />
because they may soon be taken away. No dependance can be placed on them in<br />
the emergencies of life. He who is rich today, has no security that he will be tomorrow;<br />
and if he shall be rich, tomorrow, he has no certainty that his riches will meet his<br />
necessities then. A man whose house is in flames, or who is shipwrecked, or<br />
whose child lies dying, or who is himself in the agonies of death, can derive no<br />
advantage from the fact that he is richer than other men.....That against which Paul<br />
here directs Timothy to caution the rich, is that to which they are most exposed. A<br />
man who is rich, is very liable to 'trust' in his riches, and to suppose that he needs<br />
nothing more. Compare Luke 12:19. He feels that he is not dependent on his<br />
fellow-men, and he is very likely to feel that he is not dependent on God. It is for<br />
this cause that God has recorded so many solemn declarations in his word respecting<br />
the instability of riches (comp. Prov. 23:5), and that he is furnishing so many instructive<br />
lessons in his providence, showing how easily riches may suddenly vanish away. <br />
But in the living God. (1.) He is able to supply all our wants, and to do for us what<br />
riches cannot do; and (2.) he never changes, or leaves those who put their trust in<br />
him. He is able to meet our wants if in the flames, or in a storm at sea, or when a<br />
friend dies, or when we lie down on a bed of death, or wherever we may be in<br />
the eternal world. Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. The meaning of this<br />
seems to be, that God permits us to enjoy everything. Everything in the works of<br />
creation and redemption he has given to man for his happiness, and he should therefore<br />
trust in him. He has not merely given wealth for the comfort of men, but he has given<br />
everything, and he on whom so many and so great blessings have been bestowed for<br />
his comfort, should trust in the great Benefactor himself, and not rely merely on one<br />
of his gifts.<br /> Albert BarnesFloral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-30960862541986040122017-03-30T00:00:00.000-07:002017-03-30T00:00:13.119-07:00Dear Saviour! make me wise to seeDear Saviour! make me wise to see<br />My sin, and guilt, and remedy;<br />'Tis said, of all thy blood has brought,<br />'They shall of Israel's God be taught.'<br /><br />Their plague of heart thy people know,<br />They know thy name, and trust thee too;<br />They know the gospel's blissful sound,<br />The path where endless joys abound.<br /><br />They know the Father and the Son;—<br />Theirs is eternal life begun:<br />Unto salvation they are wise,—<br />Their grace shall into glory rise.<br />
<br />
But—ignorance itself am I;<br />Born blind—estrang'd from thee I lie;<br />Lord! to thee I humbly own<br />I nothing know as should be known.<br /><br />I scarce know God, or Christ, or sin,<br />My foes without, or plague within;<br />Know not my interest, Lord, in thee,<br />In pardon, peace, or liberty?<br /><br />But help me to declare to-day,<br />If many things I cannot say,<br />'One thing I know,' all praise to thee,<br />'Though blind I was—yet now I see.'<br /> Isaac Watts<br />
<br />
<br />
"I will give them a heart to know me." Jer. 24:7. The knowledge of God is<br />
the first excellency of the new heart. As in the old, so in the new creation, as was<br />
said before, the first word is, "Let there be light." There is not so glorious a pre-eminence<br />
of day above night, as of the knowledge above the ignorance of God. As the firmament<br />
without a sun, as the body without an eye, so is the soul without knowledge. What this<br />
knowledge of God here promised is, will appear, if we consider its object.....<br />
The <b>object </b>of this knowledge is God: not only the nature or being of God, manifested<br />
in his essential perfections, his glorious attributes, his infiniteness, eternity, omnipotence,<br />
in his personal relations, the subsistences in the godhead; but God in Christ; God in covenant;<br />
yea, the whole mind and will of God, all that which God hath revealed to us as our duty or<br />
happiness. God known in the heart, is the whole Bible opened: the law opened, the gospel<br />
opened; duties, comforts, privileges made manifest. Christ opened in his sufferings, in his<br />
satisfaction, in his Spirit, in all the riches of his glory: the whole mystery of godliness<br />
revealed. The heart opened, man made known to himself, all the depths of the heart, all<br />
the deceits of the heart, all the faculties and powers of the heart, with their motions,<br />
operations, inclinations, the rectitude or obliquities of them. Heaven opened, the crown,<br />
the kingdom known; everlasting rest, glory, honor, immortality brought to light. Hell<br />
opened, sin known, the devil known, wrath, temptation, the curse, eternal fire known. <br />
All this, even all that God is, and all that he has revealed in his word and works, are the<br />
object of this knowledge of God......<br /> Christian, know the Lord, but know and fear; know and serve, know and honor<br />
thy God; know God, and know thyself, thy sin and thy misery, thy dangers and thy<br />
temptations; know and mourn; know and be ashamed; know, and fear, and watch,<br />
and fight, and overcome. Know God, and know his will, thy duty and thy way, thy<br />
privileges and opportunities, thy race and thy crown. Know, and do, and run, and<br />
suffer, and wait, and hope, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Know God,<br />
but God in Christ, God reconciled, pardoning, absolving, accepting through him. <br />
Know, and believe, accept, adventure upon, resign, commit thyself to him. Know<br />
thy God, and behold him; look upon thy God in his power, in his wisdom, in his holiness,<br />
in his goodness, in his lovingkindness, in his mercy. Behold him in his word, in his works,<br />
in his providence, in his saints, in thy soul, in his Son; set him before thine eyes, look<br />
upon thy God, and never leave looking till thou art changed into his image and satisfied<br />
with his likeness.....<br /> Richard Alleine <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-89278872195634220522017-03-29T00:00:00.000-07:002017-03-29T00:00:04.214-07:00Hark! 'tis the Shepherd's voiceHark! 'tis the Shepherd's voice,<br />Who with his flock appears;<br />He bids the tender lambs rejoice,<br />And banish all their fears.<br /><br />Though little here below,<br />You shall to glory rise:<br />"Fear not," your Father will bestow<br />A kingdom in the skies.<br /><br />“Fear not ye little flock,"<br />Whom Jesus Christ redeems;<br />
‘Tis your's to feed beside that Rock,<br />Which sends forth living streams.<br /><br />"Fear not;" though lions roar,<br />Your Shepherd guards you well;<br />Soon you shall hear their noise no more<br />But in your kingdom dwell.<br /><br />"Fear not;" believe his word;<br />You are to Jesus given;<br />'Tis "the good pleasure" of the Lord<br />To bring you safe to heaven.<br /> Joseph Irons<br />
<br />
<br />
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the<br />
kingdom. <br />
Luke 12:32<br /><br />.....Fear not, little flock. For the banishing of inordinate cares, it is necessary<br />
that fears should be suppressed. When we frighten ourselves with an apprehension<br />
of evil to come, we put ourselves upon the stretch of care how to avoid it, when after<br />
all perhaps it is but the creature of our own imagination. Therefore fear not, little<br />
flock, but hope to the end; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the<br />
kingdom. This comfortable word we had not in Matthew. Note,<br /> 1. Christ's flock in this world is a little flock; his sheep are but few and feeble. <br />
The church is a vineyard, a garden, a small spot, compared with the wilderness of<br />
this world; as Israel - 1 Kin. 20:27, who were like two little flocks of kids, when<br />
the Syrians filled the country.<br /> 2. Though it be a little flock, quite over-numbered, and therefore in danger of<br />
being overpowered, by its enemies, yet it is the will of Christ that they should not<br />
be afraid: "Fear not, little flock, but see yourselves safe under the protection and<br />
conduct of the great and good Shepherd, and lie easy."<br /> 3. God has a kingdom in store for all that belong to Christ's little flock, a crown<br />
of glory - 1 Pet. 5:4, a throne of power - Rev. 3:21, unsearchable riches, far exceeding<br />
the peculiar treasures of kings and provinces. The sheep on the right hand are called<br />
to come and inherit the kingdom; it is theirs for ever; a kingdom for each.<br /> 4. The kingdom is given according to the good pleasure of the Father; it is your<br />
Father's good pleasure; it is given not of debt, but of grace, free grace, sovereign<br />
grace; even so, Father, because it seemed good unto thee. The kingdom is his;<br />
and may he not do what he will with his own?<br /> 5. The believing hopes and prospects of the kingdom should silence and suppress<br />
the fears of Christ's little flock in this world. "Fear no trouble; for, though it should<br />
come, it shall not come between you and the kingdom, that is sure, it is near." <br />
(That is not an evil worth trembling at the thought of which cannot separate us<br />
from the love of God.) "Fear not the want of any thing that is good for you; for,<br />
if it be your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom, you need not question<br />
but he will bear your charges thither."<br /> Matthew Henry Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-5355095569659883572017-03-28T00:00:00.000-07:002017-03-28T00:00:27.051-07:00Compar'd with Christ, in all besidesCompar'd with Christ, in all besides<br />No comeliness I see; <br />The one thing needful, dearest Lord,<br />Is to be one with thee.<br /><br />The sense of thy expiring love<br />Into my soul convey:<br />Thyself bestow! for thee alone,<br />My All in all, I pray.<br /><br />Less than thyself will not suffice<br />My comfort to restore:<br />
More than thyself I cannot crave;<br />And thou canst give no more.<br /><br />Lov'd of my God, for him again<br />With love intense I'd burn:<br />Chosen of thee ere time began,<br />I'd choose thee in return.<br /><br />Whate'er consists not with thy love,<br />O teach me to resign;<br />I'm rich to all the intents of bliss,<br />If thou, O God, art mine. <br />
Toplady<br />
<br />
<br />
.....but Christ is all..... Col 3:11<br /><br /> If Christ be all, see here the Christian's inventory, how rich is he<br />
that hath Christ! He hath all that may make him completely happy. Plutarch<br />
reports that the wife of Phocion being asked where her jewels were, she answered,<br />
"My husband, and his triumphs are my jewels!" so, if a Christian be asked, where<br />
are his riches, he will say, "Christ is my riches." A true saint cannot be poor; if you<br />
look into his house, perhaps he hath scarce a bed to lie on, 1 Cor. 4:11, "Even to<br />
this present hour, we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and have no certain<br />
dwelling-place." Come to many a child of God, and bid him make his will, he<br />
saith as Peter, Acts 3:6, "Silver and gold have I none:" yet he can at the same<br />
time make his triumph with the apostle, 2 Cor. 6:10, "As having nothing, yet<br />
possessing all;" he hath Christ who is all. When a believer can call nothing his,<br />
he can say all is his. The tabernacle was covered with badgers' skins, Exod. 25:5,<br />
yet most of it was of gold: so a saint may have a poor covering, ragged clothes,<br />
but he is inlaid with gold, 'Christ is formed in his heart,' and so he is all glorious<br />
within.<br /> How could a Christian sit down satisfied with Christ! "Christ is all." What<br />
though he wants other things, is not Christ enough? If a man hath sunshine, he<br />
doth not complain he wants the light of a candle; hath he not enough who hath<br />
"the unsearchable riches of Christ?" I have read of a godly man, who being<br />
blind, his friend asked him if he was not troubled for the want of his sight; he<br />
confessed he was; "Why," saith his friend, "are you troubled because you want<br />
that which flies have, when you have that which angels have?" So I say to a<br />
Christian, Why art thou troubled for wanting that which a reprobate has, when<br />
thou hast that which the glorified saints have? Thou hast Christ with all his<br />
perquisites and royalties! Suppose a father should deny his son furniture for<br />
his house, but should settle all his land upon him, had he any cause to complain? <br />
If God denies thee a little furniture in the world, but in the mean time settles<br />
his land upon thee, he gives thee the field wherein the pearl of price is hid,<br />
hast thou any cause to repine? a Christian that wants necessaries, yet having<br />
Christ, he hath the one thing needful, Col. 2:10, "Ye are complete in him." <br />
What! complete in Christ, and not content with Christ?.....let the Christian<br />
take the harp and the viol, and bless God. <br />
Thomas Watson Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-43312951283449726312017-03-27T00:00:00.000-07:002017-03-27T00:00:21.669-07:00Rejoice, my heart, be glad and singRejoice, my heart, be glad and sing,<br />A cheerful trust maintain;<br />For God, the source of ev’rything,<br />Your portion shall remain.<br /><br />He is your treasure, He your joy,<br />Your life and light and Lord,<br />Your Counselor when doubts annoy, <br />Your shield and great reward. <br /><br />Why spend the day in blank despair, <br />In restless thought the night? <br />On your Creator cast your care; <br />He makes your burdens light. <br /><br />Did not His love and truth and pow’r <br />Guard ev’ry childhood day?<br />
And did He not in threat’ning hour<br />Turn dreaded ills away?<br /><br />He only will with patience chide,<br />His rod falls gently down;<br />And all your sins He casts aside<br />In ocean depths to drown.<br /><br />His wisdom never plans in vain,<br />Nor falters nor mistakes,<br />All that His counsels may ordain <br />A blessed ending makes.<br /><br />Upon your lips, then, lay your hand <br />And trust His guiding love;<br />Then like a rock thy peace shall stand <br />Here and in heav’n above.<br /> Paul Gerhardt<br />
<br />
<br />
.....but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. <br />
Psalms 73:26<br /><br /> “And my portion.” It is a metaphor taken from the ancient custom among<br />
the Jews, of dividing inheritances, whereby every one had his allotted portion; as<br />
if he had said, God is not only my rock to defend me from those tempests which<br />
assault me, and, thereby, my freedom from evil; but he is also my portion, to supply<br />
my necessities, and to give me the fruition of all good. Others, indeed, have their<br />
parts on this side the land of promise, but the author of all portions is the matter<br />
of my portion. My portion doth not lie in the rubbish and lumber, as theirs doth<br />
whose portion is in this life, be they never so large; but my portion containeth him<br />
whom the heavens, and heaven of heavens, can never contain. God is the strength<br />
of my heart, and my portion “for ever;” not for a year, or an age, or a million of<br />
ages, but for eternity. Though others’ portions, like roses, the fuller they blow,<br />
the sooner they shed; they are worsted often by their pride, and wasted through<br />
their prodigality, so that at last they come to want and surely death always rends<br />
their persons and portions asunder; yet my portion will be ever full, without<br />
diminution. Without alteration, this God will be my God for ever and ever, my<br />
guide and aid unto death; nay, death, which dissolveth so many bonds, and untieth<br />
such close knots, shall never part me and my portion, but give me a perfect and<br />
everlasting possession of it.<br /> George Swinnock<br />Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-56054942922885568532017-03-26T00:00:00.000-07:002017-03-26T00:00:06.938-07:00"He was led as a sheep to the slaughter."And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and<br />
put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. <br />
Mark 15:20<br /><br />....."He was led as a sheep to the slaughter." Alas, that the Emancipator of<br />
our race should be led forth as a captive to die!<br /> The direction in which he is led is outside the city. He must not die in<br />
Jerusalem, though multitudes of prophets had perished there. Though the<br />
temple was the central place of sacrifice, yet must not the Son of God be<br />
offered there, for he was an offering of another kind, and must not lie upon<br />
their altars. Outside the city, because by the Jews he was treated as a flagrant<br />
offender who must be executed at the Tyburn of the city, in the appointed place<br />
of doom known as Calvary or Golgotha. When Naboth was unjustly condemned<br />
for blasphemy, they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones<br />
that he died; and afterwards Stephen,—when they cried out against him as a<br />
blasphemer, they cast him out of the city, and there they stoned him. Our<br />
Saviour therefore must die in the ordinary place of execution, that in all respects<br />
he might be numbered with the transgressors. The rulers of the city so loathed<br />
and detested their great Reprover that they rejected him, and would not suffer<br />
him to die within their city walls. Alas, poor Jerusalem, in casting out the<br />
Son of David, thou didst cast out thy last hope: now art thou bound over to<br />
desolation.<br /> He was led outside of the city because from that time no acceptable<br />
sacrifice could be offered there. They might go on with their offering of daily<br />
lambs, and they might sacrifice their bullocks, and burn the fat of fed beasts;<br />
but from that day the substance of the sacrifice had gone away from them, and<br />
Israel's offerings were vain oblations. Because the true sacrifice is rejected of<br />
them the Lord leaves them nothing but a vain show.<br /> Still more forcible is the fact that our Lord must die outside the city because<br />
he was to be consumed as a sin-offering. It is written in the law, "And the <br />skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his<br />
inwards, and his dung, even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the<br />
camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the<br />
wood with fire." There were several sorts of offerings under the law: the<br />
sweet-savour offerings were presented upon the altar, and were accepted of God,<br />
but sin-offerings were burnt without the camp or gate, because God can have no<br />
fellowship with sin. Once let sin be imputed to the sacrifice and it becomes abhorrent<br />
to God, and must not be presented in the tabernacle or the temple, but burned outside<br />
the circle wherein his people have their habitations. And here let our hearts gratefully<br />
contemplate how truly our Lord Jesus became a sin-offering for us, and how in every<br />
point he followed out the type. With his face turned away from his Father's house he<br />
must go to die: with his face turned away from what were once his Father's people<br />
he must be led forth to be crucified. Like a thing accursed, he is to be hung up<br />
where felons suffer condign punishment. Because we were sinners, and because<br />
sin had turned our backs to God, and because sin had broken our communion<br />
with God's accepted ones, therefore must he endure this banishment. In that<br />
sorrowful march of the cross-bearing Saviour my soul with sorrow sees herself<br />
represented as deserving thus to be made to depart unto death; and yet joy mingles<br />
with this emotion, for the glorious Sin-bearer hath thus taken away our sin, and we<br />
return from our exile: his substitution is infinitely effectual. Well may those live for<br />
whom Jesus died. Well may those return in whose place the Son of God was<br />
banished. There is entrance into the holy city now, there is entrance into the<br />
temple now, there is access unto God himself now, because the Lord hath put<br />
away our sin through him who was led to be crucified outside the city gate.<br /> Nor do I think that even this exhausts the teaching. Jesus dies outside<br />
Jerusalem because he died, not for Jerusalem alone, nor for Israel alone. <br />
The effect of his atonement is not circumscribed by the walls of a city nor by<br />
the bounds of a race. In him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. <br />
Out in the open he must die, to show that he reconciled both Jews and<br />
Gentiles unto God. "For he is the propitiation for our sins,'' saith Paul,<br />
who was himself a Jew, "and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the<br />
whole world." Had he been the Saviour of Jews only, seclusion in the place<br />
of his offering would have been appropriate, but as he dies for all nations, he<br />
is hung up without the city.<br /> And yet, once more, he suffered outside the gate that we might go forth<br />
unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. "Come ye out from among<br />
them; be ye separate, touch not the unclean thing," henceforth becomes the<br />
command of God to all his sons and daughters: behold the Son of sons, his Only-<br />
begotten, leads the way in nonconformity to this present evil world, being himself<br />
officially severed from the old Jewish church, whose elders seek his life. He dies<br />
in sacred separation from the false and corrupt corporation which vaunted itself to<br />
be the chosen of God. He protested against all evil, and for this he died, so far<br />
as his murderers were concerned. Even so must his followers take up their<br />
cross and follow him withersoever he goeth, even though it be to be despised<br />
and rejected of men.....<br /> Charles H. Spurgeon Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-34115418327839552762017-03-25T00:00:00.000-07:002017-03-25T00:00:18.573-07:00And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said,<br />
Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that<br />
hate thee flee before thee. Numbers 10:35<br /><br />.....As the Lord hath many enemies so he is pleased for a time to sleep<br />
unto his enemies. He sleepeth; therefore it is said here, "Arise;" arising is<br />
opposed to sleeping. Lord, why sleepest thou? Psalm 44:23. But what is<br />
that? Not that we should understand it literally, for so the prophet derided<br />
Baal's priests: "Cry aloud, it may be your God sleepeth," 1 Kings 18:27;<br />
but understand it metaphorically: a man is said to be asleep when he is so<br />
intense about one business that he doth not regard another; that business<br />
which he doth not meddle with he is said to be asleep to: so, now, when<br />
God shall have many enemies, and they shall blaspheme his name, and<br />
revile his people, and hinder his ordinances, and God shall be deaf to all<br />
their blasphemies, revilings, and all their wickedness; when they shall persist<br />
in evil, and bring their wicked devices to pass, and yet God shall be as it<br />
were blind to all their dealings; then God sleepeth to the enmity of his enemies. <br />
Would you know the reasons?<br /> It may be the enemies are not yet great enough for God to contend with. <br />
The eagle doth not hunt after flies, and a lion doth not harness himself to battle<br />
against a poor worm. It may be the malice of the enemy is not yet great enough,<br />
and so is not a fit object for the great indignation of the great God, and therefore<br />
God suffereth them to go on that it might be a greater and a more full object to<br />
bear his indignation.<br /> Again. Therefore God suffereth this, and seemeth to sleep for a time, because<br />
his people are not provoked enough against their enemies. As it was with the<br />
children of Israel that went against Benjamin, and fell before them twice, if Israel<br />
had overcome them the first time, they would not have been so provoked against<br />
them to have cut them all off as they were; but being beaten by them twice, thereby<br />
they were provoked to their destruction. So God suffereth his enemies to prevail,<br />
and sleepeth to the case of his people for a time, because the hearts of his people<br />
are not stirred enough against their enemies to cut them off fully; when that is done,<br />
then God awaketh. <br /> Again, sometimes God sleepeth because his people sleep to him, and say, Arise,<br />
to something else. They sleep to him. It was the speech of an emperor when he<br />
was in prison, "Oh," said he, "when I was in my palace, I hoped so much in men,<br />
that I neglected trusting in God; but now I am in prison, I may hope less in men,<br />
and trust more in God." So it may be there is a time, when God's people do fall<br />
asleep to God; hope too much in men, and not enough in God. Now, saith the<br />
prophet, "Woe to him that saith to the stone, Arise," Hab. 11:19. Shall God arise<br />
to his people, when they say to the stone, "Arise?" Shall God arise for his people,<br />
when they sit down and arise not up themselves? Brethren, faith is prayer in the coals,<br />
and prayer is faith in the flame; now it may be men's faith doth not burn out enough, it<br />
burneth dark; they pray, but are not hot in prayer; they live, but they do not live out of<br />
themselves in God enough. Wherefore that God may awaken his people, he sleepeth<br />
himself. Sometimes it is for this end; because the pit of his enemies is not yet digged. <br />
Consider that Psalm 94:12-13, "Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord,<br />
and teachest him out of thy law; that thou mayest give him rest from the days of<br />
adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.".....<br /> Hence we may see what the reason is many times, why there is so much evil in<br />
the churches, and why the enemies prevail so much, so long. God is the strength of<br />
the churches, and our strength sleepeth sometimes upon all the afflictions of the churches. <br />
We are apt to be much discouraged, like the disciples, who whilst our Saviour was in the<br />
storm asleep, they came running in all haste to him, saying, "Carest thou not that we <br />perish?" So it is many times when a storm ariseth upon the church, God seemeth to<br />
sleep, and we run in haste to God, and are apt to charge God, Lord, carest thou not<br />
that we perish? But, peace, peace, he sleepeth only, he will awake shortly, you shall<br />
see it, and they shall feel it..... <br /> William Bridge Floral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-13156687760737186222017-03-24T00:00:00.000-07:002017-03-24T00:00:28.037-07:00Oh Thou that hear’st the prayer of faith Oh Thou that hear’st the prayer of faith,<br /> Wilt Thou not save a soul from death<br /> That casts itself on Thee?<br /> I have no refuge of my own,<br /> But fly to what my Lord hath done,<br /> And suffered once for me. <br /><br /> Slain in the guilty sinner's stead,<br /> His spotless righteousness I plead,<br /> And His availing blood;<br /> That righteousness my robe shall be,<br /> That merit shall atone for me,<br /> And bring me near to God.<br /><br /> Then save me from eternal death,<br /> The Spirit of adoption breathe,<br /> His consolations send;<br /> By Him some word of life impart,<br /> And sweetly whisper in my heart-<br /> “Thy Maker is thy Friend.”<br /> A. M. Toplady<br />
<br />
<br />
.....he bids you ask, and you shall have. Let me give you this one<br />
memento, Ask like one that hath to do with a rich king, who hates to do<br />
anything below himself. Remember it is he that delights to give like a God;<br />
widen, therefore, thy desires as large as heaven; be bold, and speak a<br />
great word, and I warrant thee thou shalt not be denied. Tell God, that<br />
seeing, in his infinite goodness and condescension, he has been pleased to<br />
give thee leave to ask without restraint, thou dost humbly request his Son<br />
for thy Lord and Husband, himself for thy Father, God, and Friend, his<br />
kingdom for thy dowry, the righteousness of his Son for thy ornament,<br />
clothing, and beauty, the comforts of his Spirit, and abundance of his grace<br />
to bear thy charges handsomely, till thou comest to his house. This is high<br />
indeed! but thy great and noble Lord loves dearly to hear such covetous<br />
petitioners, who will be put off with nothing but such great things. When<br />
do any of these go sad from his court? When do any of the seed of Jacob<br />
seek his face in vain? This, this is the generation of thriving ones, who seek<br />
for life, immortality, and glory; who seek thy face, God of Jacob. And now<br />
what do you say? Will you believe all this? Dare you take my word? I am<br />
persuaded none of you all think I dare tell you a lie, and do you any wrong;<br />
but for all that, I do not desire you should take my word, nor the word of any<br />
man living in a thing that concerns eternity; but take His word who cannot lie. <br />
"Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. <br />
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice<br />
silver," Prov. 8:18-19. The wise man tells us, that "wealth makes many friends,"<br />
chap. 19:4; and that "many will entreat the favour of the prince; and that every<br />
one is a friend to him that gives gifts," verse 6. If this might be in spirituals,<br />
I should not fear but that I should prevail with all my hearers to seek the<br />
friendship of God.....<br /> James JanewayFloral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5008522385607929682.post-54195977231972087522017-03-23T00:00:00.000-07:002017-03-23T00:00:13.017-07:00'Twas by an order from the Lord 'Twas by an order from the Lord,<br /> The ancient prophets spoke his word;<br /> His spirit did their tongues inspire,<br /> And warm'd their hearts with heavenly fire.<br /><br /> The works and wonders which they wrought<br /> Confirm'd the messages they brought;<br /> The prophet's pen succeeds his breath<br /> To save the holy words from death.<br /><br /> Great God, mine eyes with pleasure look<br /> On the dear volume of thy book;<br /> There my Redeemer's face I see,<br /> And read his name who died for me.<br /><br /> Let the false raptures of the mind<br /> Be lost and vanish in the wind;<br /> Here I can fix my hopes secure,<br /> This is thy word, and must endure.<br /> Isaac WattsFloral Still Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413269205452661623noreply@blogger.com0