The Great Giver # 1
"He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all - how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
The above verse supplies us with an instance of Divine logic. It contains a conclusion drawn from a premise; the premise is that God delivered up Christ for all His people, therefore everything else that is needed by them is sure to be given. There are many examples in Holy Writ of such Divine logic. "If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire - will He not much more clothe you?" (Matt. 6:30). "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son - how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!" (Romans 5:10). "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children - how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!" (Matt. 7:11). So here in our text the reasoning is irresistible and goes straight to the understanding and heart.
Our text tells of the gracious character of our loving God as interpreted by the gift of His Son. And this, not merely for the instruction of our minds, but for the comfort and assurance of our hearts. The gift of His own Son is God's guarantee to His people of all needed blessings. The greater includes the lesser. His unspeakable spiritual gift is the pledge of all needed temporal mercies. Note in our text four things:
1. The Father's costly sacrifice.
This brings before us a side of the truth upon which I fear we rarely meditate. We delight to think of the wondrous love of Christ, whose love was stronger than death, and who deemed no suffering too great for His people. But what must it have meant to the heart of the Father when His beloved left His Heavenly Home! God is love, and nothing is so sensitive as love. I do not believe that Deity is emotionless, or stoical. I believe the sending forth of the Son was something which the heart of the Father felt - that it was a real sacrifice on His part.
Weigh well then, the solemn fact which premises the sure promise that follows: God "spared not His own Son!" Expressive, profound, melting words! Knowing full well, as He only could, all that redemption involved - the Law rigid and unbending, insisting upon perfect obedience and demanding death for its transgressors. Justice, stern and inexorable, requiring full satisfaction, refusing to "clear the guilty." Yet God withheld not the only Sacrifice which could meet the case.
God "spared not His own Son," though knowing full well the humiliation and ignominy of Bethlehem's manger, the ingratitude of men, the not having where to lay His head, the hatred and opposition of the ungodly, the enmity and bruising of satan - yet He did not hesitate. God did not relax ought of the holy requirements of His throne, nor abate one whit of the awful curse. No, He "spared not His own Son." The utmost farthing was exacted; the last dregs in the cup of wrath must be drained. Even when His Beloved cried from the Garden, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me," God "spared Him not. Even when vile hands had nailed Him to the tree, God cried "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, the man who is my Partner, says the Lord Almighty. Strike down the Shepherd!" (Zech. 13:7).
2. The Father's Gracious Design.
"But delivered Him up for us all." Here we are told why the Father made such a costly sacrifice. He did not spare His Son - that He might spare us! It was not lack of love to the Saviour - but wondrous, matchless, fathomless love for us!! Oh marvel at the wondrous design of the Most High. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." Truly, such love passes knowledge. Moreover, He made this costly sacrifice not grudgingly or reluctantly, but freely - out of love for us!
Once God had said to rebellious Israel, "How shall I give you up, Ephraim?" (Hosea 11:8). Infinitely more cause had He to say this of the Holy One, His well-beloved, the One in whom His soul daily delighted. Yet, He "delivered Him up" - to shame and spitting, to hatred and persecution, to suffering and death itself. And He delivered Him up for us - descendants of rebellious Adam, depraved and defiled, corrupt and sinful, vile and worthless! For us who had gone into the "far country" of alienation from Him, and there spent our substance in riotous living. Yes, "for us" who had gone astray like sheep, each one turning to "his own way." For us "who were by nature the children of wrath, even as others" in whom there dwelt no good thing. For us who had rebelled against our Creator, hatred His holiness, despised His Word, broken His commandments, resisted His Spirit. For us who richly deserved to be cast into the everlasting burnings and receive those wages which our sins so fully earned.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Saturday, December 21, 2019
I Am In Agony In This Fire! (and others)
I Am In Agony In This Fire! (and others)
The rich man called to him, "Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire!" But Abraham replied, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony!" (Luke 16:24-25).
It is a grievous fact that many an ungodly sinner walks in a flowery path to perdition - and goes merrily to his eternal ruin. It is, on the contrary, as certain that many a godly Christian travels by a rough and toilsome road to heaven - and ascends to glory amid many tears. Our Divine Lord has set forth this in the most solemn of His parables - the rich man and Lazarus. If we looked only at the outward and earthly condition of these two men, we would say one is the type of all that is felicitous; while the other is the type of all that is miserable.
But who that looks upon their eternal abode, would not a thousand times rather be Lazarus with his poverty, sores, and beggary, feeding at the rich man's gate upon the crumbs which fell from his table - than the wealth possessor of the mansion, with his purple and fine linen and daily luxurious living! Look up at the one who has dropped all his poverty, borne by angels to Abraham's bosom! And then look down upon the other, stripped of his splendid garments, deprived of his luxurious living, and from the midst of his torment begging for a drop of water to cool his parched tongue - and there see the end and outcome of "sanctified poverty" and of "unsanctified wealth."
~John Angell James~
________________________
Honor, Wealth, and Pleasure Lose Their Charms
"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word. It was good for me to be afflicted!" (Psalm 119:67, 71).
Afflictions tend to wean us from the world - and to fix our affections on things above.
We are all too worldly!
We gravitate too much to earth!
Our feet stick in the mire, and we do not soar aloft on the wings of faith and hope into the regions above, as we ought.
We are like moles - when we should be like eagles!
Hence the need, and the benefit too, of afflictions.
~John Angell James~
______________________
Vacationing At Resorts?
The line of distinction between the world and the church is fast disappearing.
What shall be said of the conduct of some professing Christians vacationing at resorts? It has become almost one of the necessaries of life to most. To say that this is wrong to those who can afford to pay for it, is certainly not my intention. But some professing Christians have ruined themselves, and plunged their families into poverty and distress, by habits of expense and idleness, acquired by this annual excursion to the sea. The taste of the age is for luxurious gratification, and it is certainly one of these luxuries to while away a week or two amidst the beauties of the coast. I will suppose, however, that the professor can afford the gratification; still, are not his spendings for this enjoyment, out of all due proportion with his donations to the cause of Christ? When did he ever give, in one amount, to any Christian cause, what he gives, in one amount, for his treat to his family to a resort? No, put together all that he gives to the cause of the Lord for a whole year, and does it equal what he spends upon one vacation, lavishing hundreds - or thousands, in riding into the country, or sailing on the sea, and luxuriating in other ways on the shore.
When a world is perishing, and immortal souls are sinking daily in crowds to perdition, a Christian should give much thought to those souls around him. It is fun to have a little pleasure for ourselves if, and only if, we can value the cause of Christ also.
~John Angell James~
The rich man called to him, "Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire!" But Abraham replied, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony!" (Luke 16:24-25).
It is a grievous fact that many an ungodly sinner walks in a flowery path to perdition - and goes merrily to his eternal ruin. It is, on the contrary, as certain that many a godly Christian travels by a rough and toilsome road to heaven - and ascends to glory amid many tears. Our Divine Lord has set forth this in the most solemn of His parables - the rich man and Lazarus. If we looked only at the outward and earthly condition of these two men, we would say one is the type of all that is felicitous; while the other is the type of all that is miserable.
But who that looks upon their eternal abode, would not a thousand times rather be Lazarus with his poverty, sores, and beggary, feeding at the rich man's gate upon the crumbs which fell from his table - than the wealth possessor of the mansion, with his purple and fine linen and daily luxurious living! Look up at the one who has dropped all his poverty, borne by angels to Abraham's bosom! And then look down upon the other, stripped of his splendid garments, deprived of his luxurious living, and from the midst of his torment begging for a drop of water to cool his parched tongue - and there see the end and outcome of "sanctified poverty" and of "unsanctified wealth."
~John Angell James~
________________________
Honor, Wealth, and Pleasure Lose Their Charms
"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word. It was good for me to be afflicted!" (Psalm 119:67, 71).
Afflictions tend to wean us from the world - and to fix our affections on things above.
We are all too worldly!
We gravitate too much to earth!
Our feet stick in the mire, and we do not soar aloft on the wings of faith and hope into the regions above, as we ought.
We are like moles - when we should be like eagles!
Hence the need, and the benefit too, of afflictions.
~John Angell James~
______________________
Vacationing At Resorts?
The line of distinction between the world and the church is fast disappearing.
What shall be said of the conduct of some professing Christians vacationing at resorts? It has become almost one of the necessaries of life to most. To say that this is wrong to those who can afford to pay for it, is certainly not my intention. But some professing Christians have ruined themselves, and plunged their families into poverty and distress, by habits of expense and idleness, acquired by this annual excursion to the sea. The taste of the age is for luxurious gratification, and it is certainly one of these luxuries to while away a week or two amidst the beauties of the coast. I will suppose, however, that the professor can afford the gratification; still, are not his spendings for this enjoyment, out of all due proportion with his donations to the cause of Christ? When did he ever give, in one amount, to any Christian cause, what he gives, in one amount, for his treat to his family to a resort? No, put together all that he gives to the cause of the Lord for a whole year, and does it equal what he spends upon one vacation, lavishing hundreds - or thousands, in riding into the country, or sailing on the sea, and luxuriating in other ways on the shore.
When a world is perishing, and immortal souls are sinking daily in crowds to perdition, a Christian should give much thought to those souls around him. It is fun to have a little pleasure for ourselves if, and only if, we can value the cause of Christ also.
~John Angell James~
Israel's Need And God's Mercy # 3
Israel's Need And God's Mercy # 3
Blessed be God for the provision He has made for us, for we have found His grace sufficient for us, and His strength perfected in our weakness. Our shoes have been iron and brass; and as our day - so has our strength been. We have gone by day and night. Ah, some of us have traveled much by night! But we have ever found the truth of the testimony, "Unto the upright - there arises light in darkness."
He continued His kindness to them unto the end. "Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." The symbol of the divine presence continued with them until Moses died. When Joshua became leader, the ark opened the way through the Jordan, and conducted them into the promised land.
Just so, God's providence will care for us, comfort us, lead us, and supply us - until we come to the Jordan. And then Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, Jesus, the ark of the everlasting covenant - will lead us across the river, make the way plain and easy, and introduce us to the promised land.
He who began with us, will go on with us - nor will He leave us nor forsake us until He has done all that He has spoken to us of. Every jot and tittle of His Word must be fulfilled, for the Lord will not forsake His people for His great name's sake; because it has pleased the Lord to make them His people. We are confident of this very thing - that He who has begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ!
Beloved, are you traveling from Egypt to Canaan - from earth to Heaven? If so, you need a guide. No creature will be found sufficient. It must be the Lord Himself!
He guides all His people by His providence, for His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in behalf of all those whose hearts are perfect towards Him.
He guides them by His grace. His Word is our directory - the map of our journey. On that He shines by His Holy Spirit, and in us He works by the same divine agent. He convinces, He inclines, He leads, He sustains, and at length introduces us to the eternal rest prepared for the people of God.
If God is your guide - He will adapt His manifestation to your circumstances. There will be no visible could or fire - but He will make your way plain before your face. He will not guide you as a horse or mule - with bit and bridle; but as a rational being - as a beloved child. He will take you by the hand, gradually and graciously clear your way, and comfort and encourage you as you go on.
Under His guidance you will make progress both by day and night.
In prosperity and adversity,
in joy and sorrow,
in light and darkness,
in summer and winter,
you will still make way to the promised land.
The true Christian can travel by day or night. He is not dependent on circumstances. He often rises beyond the region of second causes. He makes progress - because the Lord is with him.
If God begins to lead you, He will go through the whole journey with you. He will not leave you in the middle. He will not forsake you toward the end.
Doubts may beset you, fears may assault you, satan and the world may conspire against you - but your God will guide you. He will support, supply, and defend you; and make all His goodness pass before you!
When Israel was from Egypt freed,
The Lord who brought them out,
Helped them in every time of need,
But led them round about.
They often murmured by the way,
Because they judged by sight;
But were at length constrained to say,
The Lord had led them right!
By fire and cloud their way was shown,
Across the pathless sands;
And Amelek was overthrown,
By Moses' lifted hands.
The way was right, their hearts to prove,
To make God's glory known,
And show His wisdom, power, and love,
Engaged to save His own!
Just so the true believer's path
Through many dangers lies;
Though dark to sense, 'tis right to faith,
And leads us to the skies!
~James Smith~
(The End)
Blessed be God for the provision He has made for us, for we have found His grace sufficient for us, and His strength perfected in our weakness. Our shoes have been iron and brass; and as our day - so has our strength been. We have gone by day and night. Ah, some of us have traveled much by night! But we have ever found the truth of the testimony, "Unto the upright - there arises light in darkness."
He continued His kindness to them unto the end. "Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." The symbol of the divine presence continued with them until Moses died. When Joshua became leader, the ark opened the way through the Jordan, and conducted them into the promised land.
Just so, God's providence will care for us, comfort us, lead us, and supply us - until we come to the Jordan. And then Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, Jesus, the ark of the everlasting covenant - will lead us across the river, make the way plain and easy, and introduce us to the promised land.
He who began with us, will go on with us - nor will He leave us nor forsake us until He has done all that He has spoken to us of. Every jot and tittle of His Word must be fulfilled, for the Lord will not forsake His people for His great name's sake; because it has pleased the Lord to make them His people. We are confident of this very thing - that He who has begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ!
Beloved, are you traveling from Egypt to Canaan - from earth to Heaven? If so, you need a guide. No creature will be found sufficient. It must be the Lord Himself!
He guides all His people by His providence, for His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in behalf of all those whose hearts are perfect towards Him.
He guides them by His grace. His Word is our directory - the map of our journey. On that He shines by His Holy Spirit, and in us He works by the same divine agent. He convinces, He inclines, He leads, He sustains, and at length introduces us to the eternal rest prepared for the people of God.
If God is your guide - He will adapt His manifestation to your circumstances. There will be no visible could or fire - but He will make your way plain before your face. He will not guide you as a horse or mule - with bit and bridle; but as a rational being - as a beloved child. He will take you by the hand, gradually and graciously clear your way, and comfort and encourage you as you go on.
Under His guidance you will make progress both by day and night.
In prosperity and adversity,
in joy and sorrow,
in light and darkness,
in summer and winter,
you will still make way to the promised land.
The true Christian can travel by day or night. He is not dependent on circumstances. He often rises beyond the region of second causes. He makes progress - because the Lord is with him.
If God begins to lead you, He will go through the whole journey with you. He will not leave you in the middle. He will not forsake you toward the end.
Doubts may beset you, fears may assault you, satan and the world may conspire against you - but your God will guide you. He will support, supply, and defend you; and make all His goodness pass before you!
When Israel was from Egypt freed,
The Lord who brought them out,
Helped them in every time of need,
But led them round about.
They often murmured by the way,
Because they judged by sight;
But were at length constrained to say,
The Lord had led them right!
By fire and cloud their way was shown,
Across the pathless sands;
And Amelek was overthrown,
By Moses' lifted hands.
The way was right, their hearts to prove,
To make God's glory known,
And show His wisdom, power, and love,
Engaged to save His own!
Just so the true believer's path
Through many dangers lies;
Though dark to sense, 'tis right to faith,
And leads us to the skies!
~James Smith~
(The End)
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Israel's Need and God's Mercy # 2
Israel's Need and God's Mercy # 2
Overcoming faith is impossible without the constant renewings of the Holy Spirit. We doubt the promise - and distrust the promiser. Sometimes we question whether we have ever left Egypt - and at other times we are ready to conclude, that for our sin, He has brought us out to slay us in the wilderness. This distrusting God is the sin that does so easily beset us.
With so long a journey, so strange a path, such numerous foes, so many dangers, and such unbelieving hearts - can we ever reach the promised land? Can we? Not if left to ourselves. Not if led only by Moses. Not if we have merely an angel for our guide. We must have a guide who well knows the road; who can conquer our many foes; who can lead us safely through all our dangers; who can bear with our stubborn hearts and lives!
We need a guide whose wisdom is perfect, whose power is almighty, whose care is constant, whose patience is immutable, and whose mercy endures forever! And we have such a guide, for the Most High God, who rules over the kingdoms of men has said to us, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go! I will guide you with My eye!" (Psalm 32:8). And so sweetly has He assured us of His love, won our confidence, and revealed His character and qualifications, that we have right heartily said, "You shall guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory!" Israel's God was Israel's guide; and this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even unto death, through death, and beyond it. "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night." This leads us to notice -
Secondly - The Lord's Mercy. God provided just what the Israelites needed in the wilderness - a guide to lead them by day and night. He went ahead of them; thus pointing out the road, clearing it of insurmountable difficulties, and conducting them in it.
This is what our good and gracious God does for us! He is really present with us - though unseen by us. He is never far from any one of us. He marks out our road, He removes every real impediment out of our way, and conducts us step by step in the path to the promised land!
Naturally we do not know the path; and when we do, our nature always dislikes it. Left to ourselves, we would choose the short-cut, the smooth path, and well-frequented road. But He leads us in a zigzag way, by a rough and uneven road - where there are but few fellow-travelers. His choice is best. The way He points out is the only right one. It is to humble us, and test us, and show what is in our hearts. It is that we may walk by faith - and not by sight. It is to teach us our need of Himself - and to lead us to cleave to Him.
He came behind them. When the Egyptians drew near, the pillar of fire moved, and fell down as a fiery partition, as an impassable barrier between the two companies.
The Lord went before them, and the God of Israel was their reward.
Just so, our wise and watchful guide becomes our SHIELD - He interposes between us and danger. Often, very often, would the Egyptians have come upon us from behind, and injured, if not destroyed us - but our God was there, He protected and preserved us. We shall never know until we get to glory - how often and in how many ways, the Lord has interposed for us and preserved us!
He adapted Himself to all their circumstances.
By day, when the sun was pouring down its streams of glaring light and scorching heat - it was a warming cheerful fire. it was shade or light; shadow or warmth - just as they needed. And, oh, beloved, how has our God adapted Himself to all our circumstances these many years in the wilderness! He has warmed us with His love - and cooled us with His mercy. He has sheltered us with His broad hand - and cheered us with His loving Word.
In looking back, we can see that we have had the cloud by day - and the fire by night. He has fully provided for them that they might journey by day and night. If they had to strike their tents and pack up for a march at noon - the cloud shadowed them; and if they had to prepare for a removal at night - the fire gave them light to work by. If they traveled on scorching sands, and under a burning sky - they were sheltered; and if they journeyed under the gloom of midnight - they were illumined and cheered.
~James Smith~
(continued with # 3)
Overcoming faith is impossible without the constant renewings of the Holy Spirit. We doubt the promise - and distrust the promiser. Sometimes we question whether we have ever left Egypt - and at other times we are ready to conclude, that for our sin, He has brought us out to slay us in the wilderness. This distrusting God is the sin that does so easily beset us.
With so long a journey, so strange a path, such numerous foes, so many dangers, and such unbelieving hearts - can we ever reach the promised land? Can we? Not if left to ourselves. Not if led only by Moses. Not if we have merely an angel for our guide. We must have a guide who well knows the road; who can conquer our many foes; who can lead us safely through all our dangers; who can bear with our stubborn hearts and lives!
We need a guide whose wisdom is perfect, whose power is almighty, whose care is constant, whose patience is immutable, and whose mercy endures forever! And we have such a guide, for the Most High God, who rules over the kingdoms of men has said to us, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go! I will guide you with My eye!" (Psalm 32:8). And so sweetly has He assured us of His love, won our confidence, and revealed His character and qualifications, that we have right heartily said, "You shall guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory!" Israel's God was Israel's guide; and this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even unto death, through death, and beyond it. "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night." This leads us to notice -
Secondly - The Lord's Mercy. God provided just what the Israelites needed in the wilderness - a guide to lead them by day and night. He went ahead of them; thus pointing out the road, clearing it of insurmountable difficulties, and conducting them in it.
This is what our good and gracious God does for us! He is really present with us - though unseen by us. He is never far from any one of us. He marks out our road, He removes every real impediment out of our way, and conducts us step by step in the path to the promised land!
Naturally we do not know the path; and when we do, our nature always dislikes it. Left to ourselves, we would choose the short-cut, the smooth path, and well-frequented road. But He leads us in a zigzag way, by a rough and uneven road - where there are but few fellow-travelers. His choice is best. The way He points out is the only right one. It is to humble us, and test us, and show what is in our hearts. It is that we may walk by faith - and not by sight. It is to teach us our need of Himself - and to lead us to cleave to Him.
He came behind them. When the Egyptians drew near, the pillar of fire moved, and fell down as a fiery partition, as an impassable barrier between the two companies.
The Lord went before them, and the God of Israel was their reward.
Just so, our wise and watchful guide becomes our SHIELD - He interposes between us and danger. Often, very often, would the Egyptians have come upon us from behind, and injured, if not destroyed us - but our God was there, He protected and preserved us. We shall never know until we get to glory - how often and in how many ways, the Lord has interposed for us and preserved us!
He adapted Himself to all their circumstances.
By day, when the sun was pouring down its streams of glaring light and scorching heat - it was a warming cheerful fire. it was shade or light; shadow or warmth - just as they needed. And, oh, beloved, how has our God adapted Himself to all our circumstances these many years in the wilderness! He has warmed us with His love - and cooled us with His mercy. He has sheltered us with His broad hand - and cheered us with His loving Word.
In looking back, we can see that we have had the cloud by day - and the fire by night. He has fully provided for them that they might journey by day and night. If they had to strike their tents and pack up for a march at noon - the cloud shadowed them; and if they had to prepare for a removal at night - the fire gave them light to work by. If they traveled on scorching sands, and under a burning sky - they were sheltered; and if they journeyed under the gloom of midnight - they were illumined and cheered.
~James Smith~
(continued with # 3)
Thanksgiving # 2
Thanksgiving # 2
3. Offer unto God, thanksgiving for your personal interest in spiritual blessings.
Thank God for your conversion. What were you more than others, that He should have chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth?
Thank God for enlightening and quickening you. When you sat in the region and shadow of death - the dayspring from on high visited you. When you had no more thought for God than a dead man, then he "made you alive in Christ!" (Eph. 2:1).
Thank God for pardoning and justifying you.
Thank God for adopting love. "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty!" (2 Cor. 6:18).
Thank God for sanctification; for "though you lay among
the pots, you are like a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold."
Thank Him for growth in grace. "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, and grow like the cedar in Lebanon."
Thank Him for the hope of perfection; knowing that "He who has begun the good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
Thank Him for supporting grace in the prospect of death, for the promise of His presence then to enable you to conquer - for the hope of a glorious resurrection, and admission to immortal bliss!
II. The Manner of Offering Thanks to God.
1. Thanksgiving may be mental - as when we indulge admiring, adoring, and affectionate thoughts of God, or meditate upon His graciousness with pleasure and delight.
2. Thanksgiving may be vocal. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth may be compelled to speak." In private - in the family - in the house of God.
3. Thanks giving must be with reverence. It is praise to the Great I Am - to God, who is a Spirit, pure, infinite" (Nehemiah 9:5; Psalm 91:1, 2; 95:1-3.)
4. Thanksgiving must be with humility - as unworthy recipients, acknowledging the salvation of God. As prodigals, returned outcasts, miserable sinners - confessing salvation to be all of grace.
5. Thanksgiving must be practical. This is called a "showing forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light." Tell others what He has done for you. Go, spread His truth - advance His cause. The people upon whom Christ wrought miracles did this. Paul, the persecutor, after his conversion, did this.
6. Thanksgiving must be ardent. The greatness of the blessings, demands fervent thanks. Life from the dead - translation from satan's kingdom into the kingdom of God's dear Son - deliverance from perdition to the hope of Heaven, etc. (Psalm 71:8; 138:1, 2).
III. Enforce the Duty of Thanks to God.
1. Thanksgiving is the command of God. It was so under the Levitical economy (Lev. 7:12); much more so under the Gospel dispensation; (1 Cor. 9:11; Phil. 4:6; Col. 2:7).
2. Thanksgiving is a striking evidence of spiritual vitality. It indicates sensibility - experience - love to God.
3. Thanks giving is delightful. (Psalm 33:1; 147). Delightful to feel - beautiful to behold.
Sweet is the work, my God, my King.
To praise Your name, give thanks and sing.
To show Your love by morning light.
And talk of all Your truth at night.
4. Thanksgiving is acceptable to God, and honors Him. (Psalm 50:23; 2 Cor. 4:15). God neither needs our services nor our songs - as He is all perfection, and an everlasting harmony to Himself, without the feeble notes that we can raise. Yet through Christ, He is well pleased with our imperfect praises. Where He has given His grace, the grateful heart is an instrument of music to Him; and He loves it to be kept in tune, and to sound forth His praises.
5. Thanksgiving is the precursor of praise to be offered in the celestial temple! Thanksgiving is the practice-tune, the rehearsal for the grand chorus of all the redeemed in Heaven! We are tuning our hearts here for perfect praise there!
When the Church militant shall be joined to the Church triumphant - O what voices, what songs of melody, what rapturous joys, will then be heard in Heaven to all eternity, when Christ shall lead the worship, and the praises that have been growing for thousands of years, shall burst forth, and be diffused abroad, and all creation echo to the song, "Glory to God in the highest!" This is what the saints are waiting for; that which they ardently believe and hope they shall realize!
~William Nicholson~
(The End)
3. Offer unto God, thanksgiving for your personal interest in spiritual blessings.
Thank God for your conversion. What were you more than others, that He should have chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth?
Thank God for enlightening and quickening you. When you sat in the region and shadow of death - the dayspring from on high visited you. When you had no more thought for God than a dead man, then he "made you alive in Christ!" (Eph. 2:1).
Thank God for pardoning and justifying you.
Thank God for adopting love. "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty!" (2 Cor. 6:18).
Thank God for sanctification; for "though you lay among
the pots, you are like a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold."
Thank Him for growth in grace. "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, and grow like the cedar in Lebanon."
Thank Him for the hope of perfection; knowing that "He who has begun the good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
Thank Him for supporting grace in the prospect of death, for the promise of His presence then to enable you to conquer - for the hope of a glorious resurrection, and admission to immortal bliss!
II. The Manner of Offering Thanks to God.
1. Thanksgiving may be mental - as when we indulge admiring, adoring, and affectionate thoughts of God, or meditate upon His graciousness with pleasure and delight.
2. Thanksgiving may be vocal. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth may be compelled to speak." In private - in the family - in the house of God.
3. Thanks giving must be with reverence. It is praise to the Great I Am - to God, who is a Spirit, pure, infinite" (Nehemiah 9:5; Psalm 91:1, 2; 95:1-3.)
4. Thanksgiving must be with humility - as unworthy recipients, acknowledging the salvation of God. As prodigals, returned outcasts, miserable sinners - confessing salvation to be all of grace.
5. Thanksgiving must be practical. This is called a "showing forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light." Tell others what He has done for you. Go, spread His truth - advance His cause. The people upon whom Christ wrought miracles did this. Paul, the persecutor, after his conversion, did this.
6. Thanksgiving must be ardent. The greatness of the blessings, demands fervent thanks. Life from the dead - translation from satan's kingdom into the kingdom of God's dear Son - deliverance from perdition to the hope of Heaven, etc. (Psalm 71:8; 138:1, 2).
III. Enforce the Duty of Thanks to God.
1. Thanksgiving is the command of God. It was so under the Levitical economy (Lev. 7:12); much more so under the Gospel dispensation; (1 Cor. 9:11; Phil. 4:6; Col. 2:7).
2. Thanksgiving is a striking evidence of spiritual vitality. It indicates sensibility - experience - love to God.
3. Thanks giving is delightful. (Psalm 33:1; 147). Delightful to feel - beautiful to behold.
Sweet is the work, my God, my King.
To praise Your name, give thanks and sing.
To show Your love by morning light.
And talk of all Your truth at night.
4. Thanksgiving is acceptable to God, and honors Him. (Psalm 50:23; 2 Cor. 4:15). God neither needs our services nor our songs - as He is all perfection, and an everlasting harmony to Himself, without the feeble notes that we can raise. Yet through Christ, He is well pleased with our imperfect praises. Where He has given His grace, the grateful heart is an instrument of music to Him; and He loves it to be kept in tune, and to sound forth His praises.
5. Thanksgiving is the precursor of praise to be offered in the celestial temple! Thanksgiving is the practice-tune, the rehearsal for the grand chorus of all the redeemed in Heaven! We are tuning our hearts here for perfect praise there!
When the Church militant shall be joined to the Church triumphant - O what voices, what songs of melody, what rapturous joys, will then be heard in Heaven to all eternity, when Christ shall lead the worship, and the praises that have been growing for thousands of years, shall burst forth, and be diffused abroad, and all creation echo to the song, "Glory to God in the highest!" This is what the saints are waiting for; that which they ardently believe and hope they shall realize!
~William Nicholson~
(The End)
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Israel's Need - and God's Mercy # 1
(another sermon that is so important!)
Israel's Need - and God's Mercy # 1
Life is but a journey - a journey from the present fleeting world, to the eternal world.
"By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." (Exodus 13:21-22).
In the books of Moses were now for the first time put into our hands with what deep interest would we read them, and what a powerful impression would their contents make upon our minds. To sit down and read, how God fitted up the world for our reception, how He created our first parents, how they fell by sin, and how graciously God opened a door of hope before them. To go through the history of the long-lived ante-diluvians, the history of the patriarchs, and above all, God's wonderful dealings with His people. Surely we would be absorbed in the subject, and filled with admiration at the book.
But we have been familiar with these things from our childhood, and therefore they have lost the charm of novelty. Still we cannot read these books carefully and with prayer, especially when we bear in mind that the past was typical of the present - without interest, instruction, and profit.
Israel had been brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand; they were about to cross the sea, enter the wilderness, and travel to the promised land. Moses was their leader - but they needed one wiser, more patient, and more powerful than Moses.
Just so with ourselves; the Lord has brought us out of the Egypt of our natural state; we have crossed the sea, which forever forbids our return to it; we are strangers and pilgrims on earth; and are traveling to a country which the Lord has promised to give us for an inheritance. There is, therefore, a similarity between Israel's circumstances - and our own; and we will keep this in view while we meditate on this portion of the Lord's
Word. Here we see -
First - Israel's need. They needed a GUIDE.
They had a long journey before them, which would take them forty years.
They had to travel by a strange path, on which they had never trodden before.
Numerous foes would endeavor to obstruct their progress.
Many dangers lined the way. And they had mistrustful and deceiving hearts.
Fellow-Christians - is it not even so with us? We are going on a journey to a country of which the Lord our God has told us.
The journey is long and trying. It takes some twenty, some forty, and some sixty years to travel from earth to Heaven.
It is a strange path. A path which no one knows - a path we have never trodden before. A path which by nature we could never find, and from which we are prone to turn aside.
We are surrounded by numerous foes, visible and invisible.
The WORLD frowning as a determined persecutor, or fawning as a base deceiver - is our foe. Now by sneers, sarcasms, or sword; and then by its gilded vanities, flesh-pleasing baits, and blandishments - it endeavors to turn us aside from the right ways of the Lord.
satan and his hosts - crafty, cunning, cruel, united, persevering and determined - set themselves to terrify and drive us back, or to allure us from the way.
And worst of all, in our own natures, we have a determined foe who is ever present, ever vigilant, ever powerful.
Yes, the FLESH lusts against the Spirit. We find a law in our members warring against the law of our minds.
The world, the flesh, and the devil all combine to oppose our progress, hinder us in our march, and, if possible, to destroy us in the wilderness!
Then there are so many dangers: the towering rocks of presumption, the quagmires of doubt and fear, the pitfalls of error, the ravines of willful sin, the fiery-flying serpent of temptation, the scorpion of indulged lust, the sunshine - and the shade; the barren sands - and the verdant valleys; the granite rocks - and the flowing streams - all of them have dangers concealed in them! Nor can we be trusted alone for one moment - if we are to be safe. Worst of all, there are our distrustful and deceitful hearts!
~James Smith~
(continued with # 2)
Israel's Need - and God's Mercy # 1
Life is but a journey - a journey from the present fleeting world, to the eternal world.
"By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." (Exodus 13:21-22).
In the books of Moses were now for the first time put into our hands with what deep interest would we read them, and what a powerful impression would their contents make upon our minds. To sit down and read, how God fitted up the world for our reception, how He created our first parents, how they fell by sin, and how graciously God opened a door of hope before them. To go through the history of the long-lived ante-diluvians, the history of the patriarchs, and above all, God's wonderful dealings with His people. Surely we would be absorbed in the subject, and filled with admiration at the book.
But we have been familiar with these things from our childhood, and therefore they have lost the charm of novelty. Still we cannot read these books carefully and with prayer, especially when we bear in mind that the past was typical of the present - without interest, instruction, and profit.
Israel had been brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand; they were about to cross the sea, enter the wilderness, and travel to the promised land. Moses was their leader - but they needed one wiser, more patient, and more powerful than Moses.
Just so with ourselves; the Lord has brought us out of the Egypt of our natural state; we have crossed the sea, which forever forbids our return to it; we are strangers and pilgrims on earth; and are traveling to a country which the Lord has promised to give us for an inheritance. There is, therefore, a similarity between Israel's circumstances - and our own; and we will keep this in view while we meditate on this portion of the Lord's
Word. Here we see -
First - Israel's need. They needed a GUIDE.
They had a long journey before them, which would take them forty years.
They had to travel by a strange path, on which they had never trodden before.
Numerous foes would endeavor to obstruct their progress.
Many dangers lined the way. And they had mistrustful and deceiving hearts.
Fellow-Christians - is it not even so with us? We are going on a journey to a country of which the Lord our God has told us.
The journey is long and trying. It takes some twenty, some forty, and some sixty years to travel from earth to Heaven.
It is a strange path. A path which no one knows - a path we have never trodden before. A path which by nature we could never find, and from which we are prone to turn aside.
We are surrounded by numerous foes, visible and invisible.
The WORLD frowning as a determined persecutor, or fawning as a base deceiver - is our foe. Now by sneers, sarcasms, or sword; and then by its gilded vanities, flesh-pleasing baits, and blandishments - it endeavors to turn us aside from the right ways of the Lord.
satan and his hosts - crafty, cunning, cruel, united, persevering and determined - set themselves to terrify and drive us back, or to allure us from the way.
And worst of all, in our own natures, we have a determined foe who is ever present, ever vigilant, ever powerful.
Yes, the FLESH lusts against the Spirit. We find a law in our members warring against the law of our minds.
The world, the flesh, and the devil all combine to oppose our progress, hinder us in our march, and, if possible, to destroy us in the wilderness!
Then there are so many dangers: the towering rocks of presumption, the quagmires of doubt and fear, the pitfalls of error, the ravines of willful sin, the fiery-flying serpent of temptation, the scorpion of indulged lust, the sunshine - and the shade; the barren sands - and the verdant valleys; the granite rocks - and the flowing streams - all of them have dangers concealed in them! Nor can we be trusted alone for one moment - if we are to be safe. Worst of all, there are our distrustful and deceitful hearts!
~James Smith~
(continued with # 2)
Thanksgiving # 1
Thanksgiving # 1
"Offer unto God thanksgiving!" (Psalm 50:14).
In the beginning of the Psalm, the Divine majesty and glory are exhibited. So glorious a Being is worthy of the highest homage, and the most ardent praise. But He will not be mocked with mere formal services. Sacrifices the most costly and splendid; offerings the most munificent and pompous, presented to Him without the heart - are an abomination in His sight. A charge of formality is brought against the Jews, "I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens - for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all that is in it!" (Psalm 50:9-12).
In all praise, in all worship, the heart is demanded.
I. The Mercies of God Demand Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is a part of Divine worship, which consists of acknowledging Him as the Source of all good, and rendering grateful homage to the power, wisdom, and goodness of God on that account.
1. Offer unto God, thanksgiving for TEMPORAL blessings.
Thank Him for your existence. You are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are made for a noble purpose - for your own personal happiness and dignity here and in eternity, to the glory of God the Father.
Thank Him for your preservation. God has preserved you in health, from sickness, from death, from evil courses, from damning crimes, degradation, and ruin.
Thank Him for the blessing of reason. What a calamity is the suspension of the soul's faculties! The man sinks below the level of the beasts - and becomes more helpless and miserable than those who are guided by the instincts of their nature!
See that man, once the learned philosopher, or the honorable statesman, or the eloquent advocate, or the brave general, or the clever theologian! O see him bereft of his reason, his faculties spoiled of their beauty, and the intellectual machinery of the soul in ruins! Hear the clanking of his chains, the hysteric laugh, the frantic cry, or the heavy groan - and then offer to God thanks for the blessing of reason!
Thank God for deliverances. You may have been sick and near unto death - but He has raised you up. You have been exposed to the deadly temptations and snares of the wicked one - yet God has delivered you. Had the temptation succeeded, what would you have been now? What would you have suffered? Then offer to God thanksgiving.
Thank God for Civil and Religious privileges. What blessings are here. "He has not dealt so with every nation." Compare our civil government with the despotic governments of the earth, forbidding the liberty of the press, and, in some cases, even the liberty of speech! Go, while your tongue is free, and offer unto God thanksgiving!
2. Offer unto God, thanksgiving for the GOSPEL dispensation and all its privileges.
Thank God for the mission of Christ to this world. The gospel is the grand remedy for man's woes, the life of the world, the salvation from perdition, and the mighty lever that exalts to Heaven.
Thank God that you are born in a land of Gospel light. Millions in benighted lands are worshiping idols, sticks and stones, reptiles, and devils! Think of their loathsome impurities, their dreadful sufferings and painful rites, their tragic destiny, perishing without vision.
Offer to the God of light, thanksgiving!
Offer praise to God for Gospel ordinances and privileges. The Sabbath day is appointed for sublime and merciful purposes; it is a day on which the richest blessings are received - a day of delicious enjoyment - a day which is the epitome of Heaven.
Then you have the preaching of the Gospel, and the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. By the first, God immediately addresses sinful men, graciously offering terms of reconciliation. In the second, He allows His people to have intimate fellowship with Himself, and cheers their hearts by the whispers of His unchanging love.
~William Nicholson~
(continued with # 2)
"Offer unto God thanksgiving!" (Psalm 50:14).
In the beginning of the Psalm, the Divine majesty and glory are exhibited. So glorious a Being is worthy of the highest homage, and the most ardent praise. But He will not be mocked with mere formal services. Sacrifices the most costly and splendid; offerings the most munificent and pompous, presented to Him without the heart - are an abomination in His sight. A charge of formality is brought against the Jews, "I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens - for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all that is in it!" (Psalm 50:9-12).
In all praise, in all worship, the heart is demanded.
I. The Mercies of God Demand Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is a part of Divine worship, which consists of acknowledging Him as the Source of all good, and rendering grateful homage to the power, wisdom, and goodness of God on that account.
1. Offer unto God, thanksgiving for TEMPORAL blessings.
Thank Him for your existence. You are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are made for a noble purpose - for your own personal happiness and dignity here and in eternity, to the glory of God the Father.
Thank Him for your preservation. God has preserved you in health, from sickness, from death, from evil courses, from damning crimes, degradation, and ruin.
Thank Him for the blessing of reason. What a calamity is the suspension of the soul's faculties! The man sinks below the level of the beasts - and becomes more helpless and miserable than those who are guided by the instincts of their nature!
See that man, once the learned philosopher, or the honorable statesman, or the eloquent advocate, or the brave general, or the clever theologian! O see him bereft of his reason, his faculties spoiled of their beauty, and the intellectual machinery of the soul in ruins! Hear the clanking of his chains, the hysteric laugh, the frantic cry, or the heavy groan - and then offer to God thanks for the blessing of reason!
Thank God for deliverances. You may have been sick and near unto death - but He has raised you up. You have been exposed to the deadly temptations and snares of the wicked one - yet God has delivered you. Had the temptation succeeded, what would you have been now? What would you have suffered? Then offer to God thanksgiving.
Thank God for Civil and Religious privileges. What blessings are here. "He has not dealt so with every nation." Compare our civil government with the despotic governments of the earth, forbidding the liberty of the press, and, in some cases, even the liberty of speech! Go, while your tongue is free, and offer unto God thanksgiving!
2. Offer unto God, thanksgiving for the GOSPEL dispensation and all its privileges.
Thank God for the mission of Christ to this world. The gospel is the grand remedy for man's woes, the life of the world, the salvation from perdition, and the mighty lever that exalts to Heaven.
Thank God that you are born in a land of Gospel light. Millions in benighted lands are worshiping idols, sticks and stones, reptiles, and devils! Think of their loathsome impurities, their dreadful sufferings and painful rites, their tragic destiny, perishing without vision.
Offer to the God of light, thanksgiving!
Offer praise to God for Gospel ordinances and privileges. The Sabbath day is appointed for sublime and merciful purposes; it is a day on which the richest blessings are received - a day of delicious enjoyment - a day which is the epitome of Heaven.
Then you have the preaching of the Gospel, and the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. By the first, God immediately addresses sinful men, graciously offering terms of reconciliation. In the second, He allows His people to have intimate fellowship with Himself, and cheers their hearts by the whispers of His unchanging love.
~William Nicholson~
(continued with # 2)
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