Body of Practical Divinity(choice excerpts) contd
cont’d The best friend!
"Man is born to trouble." Job 5:7
He is heir to trouble, it is his birthright. You may as well separate weight from lead, as trouble from the life of man.
Death frees a believer from all the troubles and encumbrances to which this life is subject. "Sin is the seed sown--and trouble is the harvest reaped!" Euripides. Life and trouble are married together. There is more in life to trouble us, than to tempt us! Parents divide a portion of sorrow to their children, and yet leave enough for themselves.
King Henry’s emblem was a crown hung in a bush of thorns. There is a far greater proportion of bitterness, than pleasure in this life. "I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon." Pro 7:17. For one sweet ingredient there were two bitter; for the sweet cinnamon, there were bitter myrrh and aloes.
A man’s grace will not exempt him from troubles. "My years have been few and difficult." Gen 47:9. Thus said a godly patriarch, though he had met with God. "I have seen God face to face!" and yet he had his troubles. There are many things to embitter life and cause trouble--but death frees us from them all!
(1.) Death frees a believer from CARE. The mind is full of perplexed thoughts--how to bring about such a design; or how to prevent such an evil. The Greek word for care comes from a primitive in the Greek, which signifies, to cut the heart in pieces. Care torments the mind; wastes the spirits. Care is a spiritual canker, which eats out the comfort of life. Death is its only cure!
(2.) Death frees a believer from FEAR. Fear is the epilepsy of the soul, which sets it shaking. "There is torment in fear." Fear is like Prometheus’ vulture gnawing the heart. There is a mistrustful fear--a fear of lack; and a distracting fear--a fear of danger; and a discouraging fear--a fear that God does not love us. These fears leave dreadful impressions upon the mind. But at death, a believer is freed from these torturing fears! He is as far from fear--as the damned are from hope. The grave buries a Christian’s fear!
(3.) Death frees a believer from LABOR. "All things are wearisome, more than one can say." Ecc 1:8. Some labor with their bodies--others with their minds. God has made a law, "In the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread." But death gives a believer a quietus--it takes him off from his hard labor. "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord: they rest from their labors." They no longer need to work--for they have entered upon their reward! They no longer need to fight--for they have the crown set on their head! "They rest from their labors."
(4.) Death frees a believer from SUFFERING. Believers are as a lily among thorns; or as the dove among vultures. The wicked have an antipathy against them; and secret hatred will often break forth into open violence. "He who was born after the flesh, persecuted him who was born after the Spirit." The dragon is described with seven heads and ten horns. j. He plots with the seven heads, and pushes with the ten horns. But at death, the godly shall be freed from the molestations of the wicked! They shall never more be pestered with these vermin! "There the wicked cease from troubling." Job 3:17. Death does to a believer, as Joseph of Arimathea did to Christ--it takes him down from the cross. The eagle which flies high, cannot be stung with the serpent. Death gives the soul the wings of an eagle--to fly above all the venomous serpents here below!
(5.) Death frees a believer from TEMPTATION. Though Satan is a conquered enemy--yet he is a restless enemy. "Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour." 1Pe 5:8. He prowls about--he is always going about his diocese. He has his snares and his darts! One he tempts with riches, another with beauty. It is a great trouble to be continually followed with temptations; it is as bad as for a virgin to have her chastity daily assaulted. But death will free a child of God from temptation, so that he shall never again be vexed with the old serpent! After death has shot its dart--the devil will be done shooting his! Grace puts a believer out of the devil’s possession--but only death frees him from the devil’s temptation!
(6.) Death frees a believer from SORROW. A cloud of sorrow often gathers in the heart--and drops into tears! "My life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing." It was part of the curse, "In sorrow you shall bring forth." Gen 3:16. Many things occasion sorrow: sickness, lawsuits, treachery of friends, disappointment of hopes, and loss of estate. "Don’t call me Naomi (that is, pleasant). Instead, call me Mara (that is, bitter), for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me." Ruth 1:20.
Sorrow is the evil spirit which haunts us! "The people wept loudly. So they named that place Bochim (that is, weeping)." Jdg 2:4-5. The world is a Bochim! Rachel wept for her children; some grieve that they have no children, and others grieve that their children are unkind. Thus we spend our years with sighing. The world is a valley of tears! But death is the funeral of all our sorrows! "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes!" Rev 7:17. Then Christ’s spouse puts off her mourning garments; for "how can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?" Mat 9:15. Thus death gives a believer his quietus--it frees him from sin and trouble. "The last enemy to be destroyed is death." 1Co 15:26. Though the apostle calls death the last enemy--yet it is the best friend! "To me to die is gain!"
See here that which may make a true saint willing to die. Death will set him out of gunshot, and free him from sin and trouble! There is no cause for weeping--to leave a valley of tears--to leave the stage on which sin and misery are acted. Believers are here in a strange country, why then should they not be willing to leave it? Death beats off their fetters of sin, and sets them free! Who goes weeping--when released from a jail?
Besides our own sins, there are the sins of others. The world is a place where Satan’s throne is; a place where we see God daily dishonored. Lot, who was a bright star in a dark night, felt his righteous soul tormented with the filthy lives of the wicked. 2Pe 2:7. To see God’s truths adulterated, and His glory eclipsed--wounds a godly heart. It made David cry out, "Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar." Kedar was Arabia, where Ishmael’s posterity lived. It was a cut to David’s heart to dwell there. O then, be willing to depart out of the tents of Kedar!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sweetest hours
Be exhorted to prize the written Word.
"I have treasured the words of His mouth
more than my daily bread." Job 23:12
David valued the Word more than gold.
The Word is the field where Christ the pearl
of great price is hidden! In this sacred mine
we dig, not for a wedge of gold--but for a
weight of glory! The Scripture is a sacred
eye-salve to illuminate us. Prov. 6:63, ’The
commandment is a lamp, and the law is light.’
The Scripture is the chart and compass by
which we sail to the new Jerusalem.
The Word is a sovereign cordial in all distresses.
What are the promises, but the water of life to
renew fainting spirits? Is it sin which troubles
you? Here is a Scripture cordial.
Do outward afflictions disquiet you? Here is
a Scripture cordial. Psa 91:15, ’I will be
with him in trouble, I will deliver him.’ Thus,
as manna was laid up in the ark, so promises
are laid up in the ark of Scripture.
The Scripture will make us wise. Wisdom is
above rubies. Psa 119:104, ’By Your precepts
I get understanding.’ The Scriptures teach a
man to know himself. They unmask Satan’s
snares and stratagems. 2Co 2:2. ’They
make one wise to salvation.’ 2Ti 3:15.
They show us the way to the heavenly
kingdom.
David counted the Word ’more desirable than
gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter
than honey, even honey dripping from the
comb.’ Psa 19:10. There is that in Scripture
which may breed delight. Well then may we
count those the sweetest hours, which are
spent in reading the holy Scriptures; well may
we say with the prophet, ’Your words were
found, and I ate them. Your words became
a delight to me and the joy of my heart.’
Jer 15:16
Oh, then, highly prize the Scriptures.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
True ’holy water’
"True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit
and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the
Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers
must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24
See how God is delighted with spiritual worship.
This is the savory meat which God loves. How few
mind this! They give Him more dregs than souls;
they think it enough to bring their duties, but not
their hearts!
To worship God in spirit, is to worship Him without
ceremonies. The ceremonies of the law, which God
Himself ordained, are now abrogated, and out of date.
Christ the substance being come, the shadows fly away;
and therefore the apostle calls the legal ceremonies,
carnal rites.
To worship God in spirit, is to worship Him with the
utmost zeal and intenseness of soul. The more spiritual
any service is--the more excellent it is. The spiritual
part of duty is the fat of the sacrifice: it is the soul
and quintessence of true religion. It is not pomp of
worship--but purity, which God accepts.
Repentance is not in the outward severities used to
the body--such as penance, fasting, and chastising
the body--but it consists in the sacrifice of a broken
heart. The true ’holy water’ is not that which the
pope sprinkles--but is distilled from the penitent eye.
Thanksgiving does not stand in church-music, the
melody of an organ--but rather in making melody
in the heart to the Lord. Eph 5:19.
Prayer is not the tuning of the voice into a heartless
confession, or counting over a few prayer beads;
but it consists in sighs and groans, Rom 8:26.
When the fire of fervency is put to the incense of
prayer--then it ascends as a sweet fragrance to God.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They are never out of His eye
God is infinite. He fills all places, and is everywhere
present. This is dreadful to the wicked. God is their
enemy, and they cannot escape Him, nor flee from
Him--for He is everywhere present! They are never
out of His eye, nor out of His reach. "Your hand shall
find out all your enemies." What caves or thickets can
men hide in--that God cannot find them? Go where
they will--He is present.
"Where shall I flee from Your presence?" If a man owes
a debt to another he may make his escape, and flee into
another land, where the creditor cannot find him. "But
where shall I flee from Your presence?" God is infinite,
He is in all places; so that He will find out His enemies
and punish them!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The diamond in the ring!
God is eternal, therefore He lives forever to reward the
godly. "To those who seek for glory and honor, eternal
life." The people of God are now in a suffering condition.
The wicked are clad in purple, and fare deliciously, while
the godly suffer. The goats climb upon high mountains,
while Christ’s sheep are in the valley of slaughter. But
here is the comfort--God is eternal, and He has appointed
eternal recompenses for the saints. In heaven are fresh
delights, and sweetness without excess. That which is
the crown and zenith of heaven’s happiness, is--that it
is "eternal." Were there but the least suspicion that this
glory must cease, it would much eclipse, yes, embitter it;
but it is eternal. "An eternal weight of glory."
What angel can span eternity? The saints shall bathe
themselves in the rivers of divine pleasure; and these
rivers can never be dried up. "At Your right hand are
pleasures for evermore." This is the highest strain in
the apostle’s rhetoric--"Forever with the Lord!"
In heaven, there is . . .
peace without trouble,
ease without pain,
glory without end!
Let this comfort the saints in all their troubles; their
sufferings are but short--but their reward is eternal!
Eternity makes heaven to be heaven! Eternity is the
diamond in the ring! Oh blessed day, which shall have
no night! The sunlight of glory shall rise upon the soul,
and never set!
The saints’ crown is eternal, "You shall receive a crown
of glory, which never fades away!" The wicked have a
never-dying worm; and the godly a never-fading crown!
Oh how should this be a spur to virtue! How willing
should we be to work for God! Though we have nothing
here on earth, God has time enough to reward His people.
The crown of eternity shall be set upon their head!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A good antidote against sin
Thoughts of eternal torments, are a good
antidote against sin. Sin tempts with its
pleasure; but when we think of eternity, it
may cool the intemperate heat of lust. Shall
I, for the pleasure of sin for a season--endure
eternal pain? Shall I venture eternal wrath?
Is sin committed so sweet--as lying in hell
forever is bitter? This thought would make
us flee from sin, as from a serpent!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What a strong appetite!
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one
man, and death through sin, and in this way death
came to all men, because all sinned." Rom 5:12
Not only is the guilt of Adam’s sin imputed to us--but
the depravity and corruption of his nature is transmitted
to us, as poison is carried from the fountain to the cistern.
This is that which we call original sin. "In sin did my mother
conceive me." Psa 51:5. Adam’s leprosy cleaves to us, as
Naaman’s leprosy did to Gehazi. 2Ki 5:27.
Sin has contaminated and defiled our virgin nature. Sin has
poisoned the spring of our nature, it has turned beauty into
leprosy; it has turned the azure brightness of our souls, into
midnight darkness.
In sin there is an aversion from good. Man has a desire to be
happy--yet opposes that which would promote his happiness.
He has a disgust of holiness, he hates to be reformed. Since
we fell from God, we have no mind to return to Him.
We have a propensity to evil. Men roll sin as honey under their
tongue. "They drink iniquity as water," Job 15:16. They thirst
for sin. Though they are tired out in committing sin--yet they
sin. "Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over
to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a
continual lust for more." Eph 4:19. "They weary themselves
to commit iniquity"; as a man who follows his game while he is
weary--yet delights in it, and cannot leave it off. Jer 9:5. Though
God has set so many flaming swords in the way to stop men in
their sin--yet they go on in it; which all shows what a strong
appetite they have to the forbidden fruit.
Consider the universality of sin. It has, as poison, diffused itself
into all the parts and powers of the soul. "The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart is faint." Isa 1:5. Like a sick patient, that has
no part sound, his liver is swelled, his feet are gangrened, his
lungs are withered. Such infected, gangrened souls we have;
until Christ, who has made a medicine of His blood, cures us!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Three keys
Christ has three keys in His hand--
the key of the grave, to open the graves
of men at the resurrection;
the key of heaven, to open the kingdom
of heaven to whomever He will;
the key of hell, to lock up the damned
in that fiery prison!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The diamond in the ring
"For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for
His children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure
and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and
decay!" 1Pe 1:4
But that which is the diamond in the ring, the glory
of this inheritance--is the eternal sight and fruition of
the blessed God! The sight of God will be a most alluring,
heart-ravishing object! "We shall see Him as He is!" Oh,
what will it be to see Him in glory, shining ten thousand
times brighter than the sun! And not only see Him--but
enjoy Him forever! All this blessedness, has Christ
purchased for us, through His death on the cross!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He turns the wolf into a lamb
The whole world is divided into two classes--
the sons of God, and the heirs of hell.
"He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through
Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will."
Eph 1:5
Adoption is a mercy spun out of the affections of free
grace. All by nature are strangers to God, therefore
have no right to sonship. God is pleased to adopt one,
and not another; to make one a vessel of glory--
another a vessel of wrath!
God adopts us from a state of sin and misery. He
adopts us from slavery; it is a mercy to redeem
a slave--but it is more to adopt him!
It would be much for God to take a clod of dust--and
make it into a star. But it is more for Him to take a
piece of clay and sin--and adopt it for His heir!
God adopts all His sons to a glorious inheritance.
"It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom!" Adoption ends in coronation! The
kingdom God gives to His adopted sons and
heirs, excels all earthly kingdoms.
All whom God adopts as His sons--He makes saints.
Those whom God adopts--He sanctifies. He not only
gives a new name--but a new nature. He turns the
wolf into a lamb; He makes the heart humble and
gracious.
See the amazing love of God, in making us His sons.
It is love in God to feed us--but more to adopt us!
God did not adopt us when we were bespangled with
the jewels of holiness--but when we were deformed
with sin, and diseased as lepers!
It is amazing that God should adopt His enemies!
For God to have pardoned His enemies would have
been much; but to adopt them for His heirs--this
astonishes the angels in heaven! All this proclaims
the wonder of God’s love in adopting us.
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on
us, that we should be called children of God! And
that is what we are!" 1Jn 3:1
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Evangelical obedience
A true Christian not only believes God’s promise--but
obeys His command. When God says "Do not drink
from sin’s enchanted cup," the believer says, "my
heavenly Father has commanded me--and I dare
not drink!"
Obedience must have the Word of God for its rule. This
is the touchstone. "To the law and to the testimony!" If
our obedience is not according to the Word, it is offering
up strange fire; and God will say, "Who has required this
at your hand?" Child-like obedience is that which is
consistent with our Father’s revealed will.
Obedience must be done from a right principle, from
the noble principle of faith. "The obedience of faith."
A crab-tree may bear fruit fair to the eye--but it is sour
because it does not come from a good root. A moral
person may give God outward obedience, which to the
eyes of others may seem glorious; but his obedience is
sour because it comes not from the sweet and pleasant
root of faith. A child of God gives Him the obedience of
faith, and that meliorates and sweetens his services.
All God’s commands have the same stamp of divine
authority upon them. If I obey one precept because
my heavenly Father commands me, by the same rule
I must obey all. A child of God obeys one command,
as well as another. "I have respect unto all Your
commandments." To obey God in some things--and
not in others, shows an unsound heart. Child-like
obedience moves towards every command of God,
as the needle points that way which the magnet draws.
If God calls to duties which are cross to flesh and blood,
if we are children--we shall still obey our Father. "I have
kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey
Your Word."
Though a believer cannot obey every precept perfectly;
yet he does evangelically. He approves of every command.
"I consent to the law, that it is good." He delights in every
command. "O how love I Your law!" His desire is to obey
every command. "Oh, that my ways were steadfast in
obeying Your decrees!" Wherein he comes short--he
looks up to Christ’s blood to supply his defects. This is
evangelical obedience; which, though we are not
satisfied with it, God accepts it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Satan’s picture!
"Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave
Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and
to purify for Himself a people that are His very own,
eager to do what is good." Tit 2:13-14
Jesus Christ has died for our sanctification. Christ shed
His blood to wash off our impurity. The cross was both
an altar and a laver. Christ died, not only to save
us from wrath--but from sin!
"Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all
you do; for it is written--Be holy, because I am holy."
1Pe 1:15-16
Sanctification makes us resemble God. It was Adam’s
sin--that he aspired to be like God in omniscience; but
we must endeavor to be like Him in sanctity. It is a holy
heart--in which something of God can be seen. Nothing
of God can be seen in an unsanctified man--but you may
see Satan’s picture in him! Envy is the devil’s eye,
hypocrisy his cloven foot; but nothing of God’s image
can be seen in him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Feathers fly up--but gold descends!
True assurance of salvation, always keeps the
heart in a lowly posture. "Lord," says the soul,
"what am I, that, passing by so many others, the
golden beams of Your love should shine upon me?"
Paul had assurance. Is he proud of this jewel? No!
"To me who am less than the least of all saints."
The more love a Christian receives from God, the
more he sees himself a debtor to free grace; and
the sense of his debt keeps his heart humble!
But presumption is bred from pride. He who presumes,
thinks himself better than others. "The proud Pharisee
stood by himself and prayed this prayer: I thank You,
God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else,
especially like that tax collector over there! For I
never cheat, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery,
I fast twice a week, and I give You a tenth of my
income." Luk 18:11-12.
Feathers fly up--but gold descends! Just so, the
heart of him who has this golden assurance, descends
in humility. Pride estranges God from the soul. Be low
in humility. Paul had assurance, and he baptized
himself with the name, "chief of sinners!" The jewel of
assurance is best kept in the cabinet of a humble heart.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ To die is gain!
As the wicked have a worm which never dies,
so the elect have an unfading crown of glory.
’Forever’ is a short word--but it has no end.
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!"
Php 1:21
To show fully what a believer’s gains are at death,
would be a task too great for an angel; all hyperboles
fall short of it; the reward of glory exceeds our
imagination.
Believers at death, shall bid an eternal farewell to
all sins and troubles. They shall be in a state of
impeccability. Sin expires with their life. I think
sometimes what a happy state that will be, never
to have another sinful thought, and to have a
quietus from all troubles. Here David cried out,
"My life is spent with griefs, and my years with
sighing." "Long life is merely long torment," said
Augustine.
Life begins with a cry, and ends with a groan; but
at death all troubles die. How delightful will it be,
to be freed from all our sinful corruptions, pride,
envy, passion and censoriousness--which as scars,
disfigured us here!
Believers at death, shall gain the glorious sight of
God. The sight of God will be very delightful; for
the terror of God’s essence will be taken away; His
majesty will be mixed with beauty, and sweetened
with mercy. It will be infinitely delightful to the
saints, to see the amiable aspects and smiles of
God’s face.
The saints at death shall not only have a sight of
God--but shall enjoy His love. There shall be no
more a veil on God’s face, nor shall His smiles be
chequered with frowns--but His love shall discover
itself in all its orient beauty and fragrant sweetness.
Here the saints pray for His love, and they have a
few drops; but there they shall have as much as
their vessels can receive. To know the love that
passes knowledge, will cause a jubilation of spirit,
and create such holy raptures of joy in the saints,
as are superlative, and would soon overwhelm them,
if God did not make them able to bear it.
Forever in Christ’s bosom is the highest strain
of the saint’s glory! We should be ambitious of
being with Christ. "I desire to depart and be with
Christ, which is better by far!" Php 1:23. We should
be content to live--but willing to die. Is it not a
blessed thing to be freed from sin, and to lie forever
in the bosom of divine love? Does not the bride desire
the marriage day, especially if she has the prospect of
a crown? What is the place we now live in--but a place
of banishment from God? We are in a wilderness! Here
we are combating with Satan--should we not desire to
be out of the bloody field, where the bullets of temptation
fly fast--and receive a victorious crown? Think what it will
be, to have always a smiling look from Christ’s face! to be
brought into the banqueting-house, and have the banner
of His love displayed over us! O you saints, desire death--
it is your ascension-day to heavenly glory!
"Always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to
share the inheritance that belongs to God’s holy
people, who live in the light. For He has rescued us
from the domain of darkness, and He has brought
us into the Kingdom of His dear Son." Col 1:12-13
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Miser ego homo!
Death frees a believer from sin. There are in the best
believers, the remnants of sin--some remainders and
relics of corruption. "O wretched man who I am! who
shall deliver me from this body of death?" By the body
of death is meant the mass and lump of sin. It may
well be called a body--for its weightiness; and a body
of death for its harmfulness.
(1.) Sin weighs us down. Sin hinders us from doing good.
Like a bird that would be flying up--but has a chain tied
to its legs to hinder it--a Christian would be flying up to
heaven with the wings of desire--but sin hinders him!
He is like a ship under sail, and at anchor! Grace would
sail forward--but sin is the anchor that holds it back!
(2.) Sin is more active in its sphere, than grace. How
stirring was lust in David, when his grace lay dormant!
(3). Sin sometimes gets the mastery, and leads a saint
captive. "For what I do is not the good I want to do;
no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing."
Rom 7:19. Paul was like a man carried down the
stream, and could not bear up against it. How often is
a child of God overpowered with pride and passion!
Therefore Paul calls sin, "a law at work in the members
of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and
making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my
members." Rom 7:23. Sin binds as a law; it has a kind
of jurisdiction over the soul, as Caesar had over the senate.
(4.) Sin defiles the soul. Like a stain to beauty--sin
turns the soul’s azure brightness into darkness.
(5.) Sin debilitates us, disarms us of our strength. "I am this
day weak, though anointed king." Though a saint is crowned
with grace, and anointed a spiritual king--he is weak.
(6.) Sin is ever restless. "The flesh lusts against the spirit."
Gal 5:17. Sin is an inmate that is always quarreling--it
will never be quiet.
(7.) Sin adheres to us, we cannot get rid of it. It may be
compared to a wild fig-tree growing on a wall, the roots of
which are pulled up--but some fibers of it are left in the
joints of the stone-work, which cannot be gotten out.
(8.) Sin mingles with our duties and graces. It makes
a child of God weary of his life, and makes him water his
couch with his tears--to think that sin is so strong an
inhabitant, and that he often offends the God he loves.
This made Paul cry out, Miser ego homo! "Oh, what a
miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life
that is dominated by sin?" Rom 7:24. He did not cry
out because of his affliction, or his prison-chains--but
for the body of sin!
Now a believer at death is freed from sin! He shall never
again have a vain, proud thought! He shall never again
grieve the Spirit of God! Sin brought death into the world
--and death shall carry sin out of the world.
The Persians had a certain day in the year in which they
killed all serpents and venomous creatures; such a day will
the day of death be to a believer. Death will destroy all his
sins--which, like so many serpents, have stung him! Death
smites a believer as the angel did Peter--and made his
chains fall off. Acts 12:7.
Believers at death are made perfect in holiness. "The spirits
of just men made perfect." At death the souls of believers
recover their virgin purity. Oh! what a blessed privilege is
this--to be without spot or wrinkle; to be purer than the
sunbeams; to be as free from sin as the angels! This makes
a believer desirous to have his passport, and to be gone
from his sin! He would gladly live in that pure air, where
no black vapors of sin arise!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Seven eyes and an iron rod
"The Father has committed all judgment
to the Son." John 5:22
He who once hung upon the cross--shall sit upon the
throne of judgment! He is of infinite knowledge to
understand all causes brought before Him; and of
infinite power to execute offenders. He is described
with seven eyes, Zec 3:9, to denote His wisdom;
and an iron rod, Psa 2:9, to denote His power.
He is so wise that He cannot be deceived,
and so strong that He cannot be resisted.
This will be terrible to the wicked. How can a guilty
prisoner endure the sight of the judge? The Lamb
of God will then be turned into a Lion, the sight of
whom will strike terror into sinners. They, being
convicted, will be speechless. Then follows the
dismal sentence: "Depart from Me, you cursed ones,
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels!"--a dreadful, but a righteous sentence. The
sinner himself shall cry, "Guilty!" Though he has a
sea of wrath--he has not one drop of injustice.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My sheep
"My sheep hear My voice; I know them, and
they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish." John 10:27-28
"My sheep"--there is election.
"Hear My voice"--there is effectual calling.
"I know them"--there is justification.
"They follow Me"--there is sanctification.
"I give them eternal life"--there is glorification.
"They shall never perish"--there is preservation.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The devil’s peace
"There is no peace," says my God, "for the
wicked." Isa 57:21
The wicked may have something which looks like peace;
but it is not. They only have a stupefied conscience. This
is the devil’s peace. He rocks men to sleep in the cradle
of carnal security; he cries, "Peace, peace!" when men
are on the precipice of hell. The seeming peace, which
a sinner has, arises from the ignorance of his danger.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The very hinge and pillar of Christianity
Justification is an act of God’s free grace, whereby
He pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous
in His sight--only for the righteousness of Christ,
imputed to us, and received by faith alone. By
Christ’s death and merits, God’s justice is more
abundantly satisfied than if we had suffered the
pains of hell forever.
Justification is the very hinge and pillar of Christianity.
An error about justification is dangerous, like a defect
in a foundation. Justification by Christ is a spring of the
water of life. To have the poison of corrupt doctrine cast
into this spring is damnable.
God, in justifying a person, pronounces him to be
righteous, and looks upon him as if he had not sinned.
The cause, the motive or ground of justification, is the
free grace of God: "being justified freely by his grace."
The first wheel that sets all the rest running, is the love
and favor of God; as a king freely pardons a delinquent.
Justification is a mercy spun out of the affections of free
grace. God does not justify us because we are worthy;
but by justifying us makes us worthy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Redeemed
A justified person is redeemed from the guilt of sin
--though not the stain of sin. Christ has redeemed a
justified person from the guilt of sin; He has discharged
his debts. Christ says to God’s justice, as Paul to Philemon,
"If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything
--charge that to My account."
A justified person is redeemed from the power and
dominion of sin--though not from the presence of sin.
Sin may rage in a child of God--but not reign.
Lust raged in David, and fear in Peter--but it did not
reign; they recovered themselves by repentance. "Sin
shall not have dominion over you." Sin lives in a child
of God--but is deposed from the throne; it lives not as
a king--but a captive.
A justified person is redeemed from the curse due to sin.
"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being
made a curse for us." Gal 3:13. Christ said to His Father,
as Rebecca to Jacob, "Upon Me, upon Me be the curse; let
the blessing be upon them--but upon Me be the curse."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sum and quintessence of the gospel!
Jesus Christ is the sum and quintessence of the
gospel! He is the wonder of angels; and the joy and
triumph of saints. The name of Christ is sweet--it is as
music in the ear, honey in the mouth, and a cordial at
the heart!
"His name shall be called Jesus." Mat 1:21. The word
for JESUS signifies a Savior; and whom He saves from hell,
He saves from sin. Where Christ is a Savior, He is a sanctifier.
There is no other Savior. "Neither is there salvation in any
other." Acts 4:12. As there was but one ark to save the
world from drowning--so there is but one Jesus to save
sinners from damning.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Minerva’s eyes were upon him
God’s glory lies chiefly in his attributes, which are the
several beams by which the divine nature shines forth.
"The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions
are weighed." Among other of his orient excellencies,
this is not the least--"the Lord is a God of knowledge."
He has a full idea and cognizance of all things; the
world is to Him a transparent body.
He makes a heart-anatomy. "I am He who searches
the thoughts and the heart." The clouds are no canopy,
the night is no curtain--to draw between us and His sight.
"Even in darkness I cannot hide from You. To You the
night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are
both alike to You."
There is not a word we whisper but God hears it.
"There is not a word in my tongue--but lo, O Lord,
You know it altogether." There is not the most subtle
thought that comes into our mind--but God perceives
it. "I know their thoughts." Thoughts speak as loud in
God’s ears--as words do in ours. All our actions,
though ever so subtly contrived, and secretly conducted,
are visible to the eye of Omniscience. "I know their works."
Achan hid the Babylonish garment in the earth--but God
brought it to light. Minerva was so lively painted, that
whichever way one turned, Minerva’s eyes were upon
him. Just so, whichever way we turn ourselves, God’s
eye is upon us!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Baptized heathen?
"The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its
master’s feeding-trough, but Israel does not
know; My people do not understand." Isa 1:3
Are there not many in our churches, who
are no better than baptized heathen?
Ignorance is the nurse of impiety.
Where ignorance reigns in the understanding,
lust rages in the affections. When people’s minds
are covered with ignorance, it is a fatal forerunner
of destruction.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Blown to hell!
"Be careful not to do your ’acts of righteousness’
before men, to be seen by them." Mat 6:1
Many do religious duties for their own glory. They
want to be set upon a theater for others to admire
them. The oil of vainglory feeds their lamp. How
many by the wind of popular breath--have been
blown to hell! Whom the devil cannot destroy
by intemperance, he does by vainglory! If there
is either justice in heaven, or fire in hell--they
shall not go unpunished.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The silkworm
When Herod had made an oration, and the people
gave a shout, saying, ’It is the voice of a God, and
not of a man!’ ’Immediately, because Herod did not
give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him
down, and he was eaten by worms and died.’ Acts 12:23.
We glorify God, when we sacrifice the praise and glory
of all we do--to Him. 1Co 15:10. ’I have worked harder
than all the other apostles,’ is a speech, one would think,
which savored of pride. But the apostle pulls the crown
from his own head--and sets it upon the head of free
grace! ’Yet it was not I but God who was working
through me by His grace.’
As Joab, when he fought against Rabbah, sent for King
David, that David might carry away the crown of the
victory; so a Christian, when he has gotten power over
any corruption or temptation, sends for Christ, that He
may carry away the crown of the victory.
As the silkworm, when she weaves her curious work,
hides herself under the silk, and is not seen; so when
we have done anything praiseworthy--we must hide
ourselves under the veil of humility, and transfer the
glory of all we have done to God.
As one used to write the name of Christ over his door--
so should we write the name of Christ over our duties.
Let Him wear the garland of praise!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Diamonds and magnets
We glorify God by laboring to draw others to God,
by seeking to convert others, and so make them
instruments of glorifying God. We should be both
diamonds and magnets; diamonds for the luster
of grace, and magnets for attractive virtue in drawing
others to Christ. It is a great way of glorifying God,
when we break open the devil’s prison, and turn men
from the power of Satan to God.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Either leap over them, or tread upon them!
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than
Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son
or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me!"
Mat 10:37
If relations lie in our way to heaven, we must
either leap over them, or tread upon them!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Feathery Christians
A man may go to hell as well for heresy, as adultery!
"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth
by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind
of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in
their deceitful scheming." Eph 4:14
To be unsettled in religion, argues lightness. As feathers
will be blown every way, so will feathery Christians.
Therefore such are compared to infants. Children are fickle;
sometimes of one mind, sometimes of another; nothing
pleases them long. Just so, unsettled Christians are childish;
the truths they embrace at one time, they reject at another.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Let us be content that God
should rule the world
Better is the loss that makes you humble,
than the success that makes you proud.
If God will give His people a kingdom when
they die--he will not deny them daily bread
while they live!
God’s providences are wise and regular,
though to us they seem very strange and
crooked.
Providence is a Christian’s diary--but not his Bible.
If other people do not act as we would have them
act, they shall act as God would have them act.
It may be, we think sometimes we could order things
better, if we had the government of the world in our
hands; but alas! should we be left to our own choice,
we would choose those things that are hurtful for us!
Let us be content that God should rule the
world. Learn to acquiesce in His will, and submit
to His providence.
Does any affliction befall you? Remember God sees it
is that which is fit for you--or it would not come. God’s
providence may sometimes be secret--but it is always
wise. We should learn to be silent under His displeasure.
"I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for
You are the one who has done this." Psa 39:9