Monthly Archives: May 2020
“The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.” (John 10:13) ———— There is no Scriptural support for the practice of hiring a man (or woman) to preach the gospel of free grace. Preaching for pay is as foreign to the church Jesus built as are all other carnal practices of men not commanded by the Word of God. The first recorded account in the Bible instructions… Read More
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37) —————————— Now, poor sinner, upon whose head the beams of a fiery law are darting; now, poor sinner, distressed in your mind, guilty in your conscience, plagued with a thousand temptations, beset by innumerable doubts and fears, can you not look up a little out of your… Read More
“Who is he that condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” (Romans 8:34) —————————— As the soul is led and taught by the Spirit, it follows the LORD through all the various acts and sufferings of His life. The first spot to which the Holy Spirit takes the poor sinner is the… Read More
“Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins?” (Lamentations 3:39) —————————— We must not understand by the word “punished,” anything of a vindictive nature. God never punishes the sins of His elect penally; that is, not as He punishes the sins of the reprobate. The eternal covenant forbids this. “Fury is not in me, says the LORD.” The elect are accepted in Jesus, are pardoned in Him, are complete… Read More
“My Father, who gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:29) —————————— In that most sublime and touching prayer which the Lord Jesus Christ, as the great High Priest over the house of God, offered up to His heavenly Father before He shed His precious blood on the cross, there is one petition, or rather an expression of… Read More
“Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us.” (2nd Peter 1:1) —————————— What a thought it is, that if you and I possess one grain of living faith, the same precious grace is in our hearts that was in the hearts of all the saints of God, from Abel the first martyr, in all the saints of the Old Testament,… Read More
“But if you are led of the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:18) —————————— If we are led of the Spirit by walking in Him; if He be our Guide and Teacher; if He be continually operating upon our heart, and bringing near the influences of His grace; if He be in us and with us, guiding us into all truth, making and keeping us believing, loving, prayerful, tender,… Read More
“You will subdue our iniquities; and will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19) —————————— Sin subdued is the next greatest blessing to sin pardoned; and wherever God pardons sin, He subdues sin; for the same grace which saves sanctifies; the same grace which casts sin behind God’s back, puts its foot upon the corruptions of the believer, and prevents iniquity from having dominion over him. The… Read More
“A time to weep.” (Ecclesiastes 3:4) —————————— Does a man only WEEP once in his life? Does not the time of weeping run, more or less, through a Christian’s whole life? Does not mourning run parallel with his existence in this tabernacle of clay? for “man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards” (Job 5:7). Then “a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down,… Read More
“And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) —————————— We must never, even in thought, separate the human nature of our adorable Redeemer from His divine. Even when His sacred body lay in the grave, and was thus for a small space of time severed from His pure and holy soul by death and the tomb, there was no separation of the two natures,… Read More
“My teaching shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.” (Deuteronomy 32:2) —————————— We have in this passage of Scripture an ascending scale–the dew, the small rain, the rain, and the showers. And this graduated scale of heavenly moisture shows that there are degrees of spiritual blessing. We must not expect all to… Read More
“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.” (2nd Peter 1:2) —————————— If we do not know Jesus for ourselves, by some spiritual discovery of His Person and work, what testimony have we of a saving interest in His grace? Because, there is no grace except that which flows through Him, for “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” This is what we… Read More
“The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.” (Isaiah 2:11) —————————— How does the LORD humble? By discovering to man what he is; by opening up the depth of his fall; by making him feel what a vile and guilty wretch he is before the footstool of mercy; by breaking him to pieces;… Read More
“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 8:3) —————————— This is the grand lesson which we have to learn in our wilderness journey–“that man does not live by bread alone,” that is, by those… Read More
“Unto you who fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.” (Malachi 4:2) —————————— Oh, what a mercy for the Bride of Christ that the God and Father of the Lord Jesus has not left her as he might justly have left her, to perish in her sins, but has provided for her a Saviour, and a great one, and does from time to time encourage… Read More
“Fools die for lack of wisdom.” (Proverbs 10:21) —————————— There is such a connection between true wisdom, which is “a knowledge of the holy” (Proverbs 30:3), and the fear of the LORD; and such a connection between ignorance of the Lord and sin, that saved saints are called “wise,” and lost sinners are called “fools,” not only in the Old Testament, as continually in the Proverbs, but in the New. Many of… Read More
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) —————————— The Deity of the Son of God shines all through the sacred page. It is the grand cardinal point, on which all the doctrines of grace turn; and he that is unsound there, is unsound everywhere. The Deity of Christ does not rest upon a few texts of Scripture, but it shines all through… Read More
“And shall not God avenge his own elect, who cry day and night unto him?” (Luke 18:7) —————————— “Behold, he prays,” was the word of the Lord to Ananias to convince him that that dreaded persecutor, Saul of Tarsus, had been quickened by the Spirit. And what a mercy it is for the quickened soul that the blessed Spirit thus helps his sinking, trembling spirit, puts life and energy into his cries… Read More
“In the house of the righteous is much treasure, but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.” (Proverbs 15:6) —————————— How different is the estimate that faith makes of riches, honours, and comforts from that made by the world and the flesh! The world has no idea of riches but such as consist in gold and silver, in houses, lands, or other tangible property; no thought of honour, but such as… Read More
“Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.” (2nd Thessalonians 2:16-17) —————————— A BLESSED privilege it is to be lifted up by the power of Divine grace, even to a little hope, and to be blessed with the manifestation of His goodness… Read More
“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” (Micah 7:18) —————————— God delights in mercy. It is not drawn from Him unwillingly; it is not forced out of Him even by importunity; it is not dragged out of His heart by the cries of His people; but He delights in… Read More
“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loves me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23) —————————— There are two grand vital points that every Christian should seek to be established in. The first is–Is he a believer in Christ? Has the blessed Spirit made Christ known to his soul? Has he… Read More
“If the LORD delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.” (Numbers 14:8) ————————— INTERESTING and instructive are the circumstances recorded in connection with the portion which I have read for our meditation; but instructive only to those whom the best of all teachers has graciously taken in hand. On such His lessons of grace are never… Read More
“I am the Resurrection and the Life.” (John 11:25) —————————— IN a variety of titles our blessed Lord and Saviour is pleased to reveal Himself in the written Word, and by the grace of His own Spirit, to the hearts of those who are eternally loved by Him, everlastingly saved by Him, perfectly washed by Him from all sin, and completely clothed by Him in the garments of salvation, and in the… Read More
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world…” (1st John 2:15) —————————— Do not love the world or anything in the world. This is a very wide sentence. It stretches forth a hand of vast grasp. It places us, as it were, upon a high mountain, such as the Lord stood upon when tempted of Satan, and it says to us, “Look around you–now there is not one… Read More
“Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD.” (Hosea 6:3) —————————— “To know the LORD” is to know experimentally and spiritually the power of Jesus’ blood and righteousness; to know our eternal union with Him; to know Him so as to be led by the Spirit into soul communion with Him, that we may talk with Him as a man talks with his friend; to know Him so… Read More
“Behold, we count them happy which endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” (James 5:11) —————————— The words translated “endure” and “patience” are the same in the original; and in fact, the example of Job is given as an instance of the happiness of those who endure. The same word is also… Read More
“I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him.” (Micah 7:9) ————————— It is a view of our sins against God that enables us to bear the indignation of the LORD against us and them. As long as we are left to a spirit of pride and self-righteousness, we murmur at the LORD’s dealings when His hand lies heavy upon us. But let us only truly feel… Read More
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit–and these three are one.” (1st John 5:7) —————————— A spiritual knowledge of the Trinity lies at the foundation of all vital godliness. To know Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by special teaching and divine revelation, is the sum and substance of spiritual religion, and is eternal life; according to the Lord’s own testimony, John 17:3,… Read More
“I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:18) —————————— If ever, as we pass through this wilderness, we feel one drop of solid joy, of true happiness, it must flow, it can flow only from one source–the manifestation of Christ to our souls. This joy may be very transient–we may have to look upon it through a vista of many years; and doubts… Read More
“I will be as the dew unto Israel.” (Hosea 14:5) —————————— Sometimes the LORD, without applying His word with any very great and distinguishing power to the heart, makes His truth to drop with a measure of sweetness into the soul. This is as rain or dew, according to His own gracious declaration, “My teaching shall drop as the rain; my speech shall distill as the dew” (Deuteronomy 32:2). The dropping, then,… Read More
“If you were of the world, the world would love his own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19) —————————— If you walk in the fear of God, and follow in the footsteps of a persecuted and despised Jesus, the world will hate and despise you as it hated and despised him, as He Himself… Read More
“I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.” (Isaiah 48:10) —————————— According to God’s own testimony, it is “through much tribulation” that we are to enter into the kingdom; and therefore there is no entering into the kingdom of grace here, or the kingdom of glory hereafter, without it. But let this be ever borne in mind, that whatever affliction befalls the saints, it is laid upon them by the hand… Read More
“That you may approve things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offence until the day of Christ.” (Philippians 1:10) —————————— If divine light has enlightened your mind, and divine life quickened your heart, and you love the Lord and His people, you must approve of the things that are excellent. For they are so commended to your conscience that you can no more do otherwise than you can… Read More
Every regenerated soul is a miracle of grace. To quicken, to convince of sin, to bring to the bar of judgment, and thence, by pouring out a Spirit of grace and supplication, to the throne of mercy, to reveal Christ, to deliver the soul from death, the eyes from tears, the feet from falling, is as much an operation of Divine power as to create a world or to raise the dead… Read More
“But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Sanctification and Redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord.” (1st Corinthians 1:30-31) —————————— To understand such a portion as this intelligently and experimentally, is to glory indeed in a Covenant JEHOVAH, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He is the alone glory of all those… Read More
“By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:2) —————————— A very precious cluster of new covenant truths from the land of spiritual promise is set before us in the portion I have read for our meditation this morning, which has been laid upon my mind and endeared to my heart through many blessed and spiritual… Read More
“He shall save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) —————————— “THE Book of the generation of Jesus Christ.” Such is the opening of the canon of New Testament Scripture, and the commencement of the Gospel by the evangelist Matthew. The Holy Ghost thus begins the genealogy of Christ from Abraham to Joseph, and then traces it out in such a manner as to cause infidelity to stumble, and poor weak faith… Read More
“God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew.” (Romans 11:2) —————————— There are certain doctrines peculiar to the spiritual education of all God’s eternally loved, elect, redeemed, and regenerate people. These doctrines are questioned all the world over, and frequently exercise and perplex the minds of those whom God is bringing in His own way which He has prepared for them, and which is now possessed and secured by Christ… Read More
“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6) —————————— A PRECIOUS declaration of the perfect oneness of the Church with JEHOVAH is given here, in the midst of spiritual commands and covenant unfoldings. The apostle commences the… Read More
“But I said, How shall I put thee among the children and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? And I said, Thou shalt call Me, My Father, and shalt not turn away from Me.” (Jeremiah 3:19) —————————— Very precious are the Gospel or Evangelical promises which the Holy Ghost has bequeathed to the Church and people of God in this chapter of Jeremiah’s prophecy a… Read More
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4) —————————— The design of the Holy… Read More
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” (1st Corinthians 2:9-10) —————————— Last Friday evening, at our weekly prayer meeting, it was my lot to dwell upon… Read More
“Righteousness shall go before Him; and shall set us in the way of His steps.” (Psalm 85:13) —————————— The Psalm commences with a very precious declaration of the Bride’s confidence in the God of all grace, and of the good things He has done for His people. This is not peculiar to the Psalmist, or to any portion of the children of God. Those who fear His name, those who hope in… Read More
“In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them: and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” (Isaiah 63:9) —————————— I like that description of the Brother born for adversity, the Messenger of the covenant, the Redeemer of His Church, and the Carrier of His elect brethren. That is the Saviour that… Read More
“Now is My soul troubled: and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” (John 12:27) ————————— The circumstances surrounding the words I have read for our consideration are full of spiritual instruction, and when opened up by the teaching of God the ever-blessed Spirit to our enlightened understanding, yield much that is blessedly interesting. Encouraging and establishing to those who… Read More
“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” (2nd Corinthians 1:5) —————————— “Toil, trial, sufferings still await On earth the pilgrim throng; Yet learn we, in our low estate, The Church triumphant’s song.” From the day that Adam sinned, temptation, trial, and tribulation have attended the heirs of glory all along their journey through this vale of tears. Since Adam by transgression fell, every… Read More
“Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.” (Psalm 119:49) —————————— Great and unspeakable is the privilege to be guided by God the ever-blessed Spirit into a true understanding and appreciation of that experience which He has set before us in the book of Psalms. It is a God-begotten, Spirit-breathed, and genuine experience, which stands the test of toil, trial, temptation, and tribulation, from whatever source… Read More
“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (1st Peter 5:10-11) ————————— The apostle Peter in the chapter before us is concerned about those whom the Lord Jesus Christ, as the great and glorious Head of the Church,… Read More
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