Jun 12
16
The Breaker! (Charles Spurgeon)
“The Breaker has gone up before them. He will bring you through the gates of your cities of captivity, back to your own land. Your King will lead you; the Lord Himself will guide you!” Micah 2:13
Inasmuch as Jesus has gone before us, things do not remain as they would have been, had He never passed that way. He has conquered every foe which has obstructed the way. Cheer up O faint-hearted warrior. Not only has Christ traveled the road—but He has slain your enemies upon life’s road!
Do you dread sin? He has nailed it to His cross!
Do you fear death? He has been the death of death!
Are you afraid of hell? He has barred the gates of hell from being entered by any of His children; they shall never see the gulf of perdition!
Whatever foes may be before the Christian—they are all overcome!
There are lions—but their teeth are broken!
There are serpents—but their fangs are extracted!
There are rivers—but they are bridged or fordable!
There are flames—but we wear that matchless garment which renders us invulnerable to fire!
The Breaker, Christ—has taken away all the power that anything can have to hurt us. Well then, you may go safely and joyously along your journey, for all your enemies are conquered beforehand! What shall you do—but march on to take the prey? They are beaten, they are vanquished; all you have to do is to divide the spoil. You shall, it is true, often engage in combat; but your fight shall be with a vanquished foe! His head is broken! He may attempt to injure you—but his strength shall not be sufficient for his malicious design. Your victory shall be sure—and your treasure shall be beyond all count! “Proclaim aloud the Savior’s fame,
Who bears the Breaker’s wondrous name; Sweet name; and it befits Him well,
Who breaks down earth, sin, death, and hell!”
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Time of trouble
“O Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited for You: be our arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.” Isaiah 33:2
This time of trouble is when sin is laid as a heavy burden upon a man’s conscience—when guilt presses him down into the dust of death—when his iniquities stare him in the face, and seem more in number than the hairs of his head—when he fears he shall be cast forever into the bottomless pit of hell, and have his portion with the hypocrites.
The only wise God deals out various measures of affliction to His people. All do not sink to the same depth—as all do not rise to the same height. All do not drink equally deep of the cup. Yet all, each in their measure, pass through this time of trouble, wherein—their fleshly religion is pulled to pieces—their self-righteousness marred—their presumptuous hopes crushed—and they brought into the state of the leper, to cry—Unclean, unclean! Until a man has passed through this time of trouble—until he has experienced more or less of these exercises of soul, and known guilt and condemnation in his conscience—until he has had his ‘rags of creature righteousness’ torn away from him—he can know nothing experimentally of the efficacy of Jesus’ atoning blood.-J.C.Philpot.
Strength for the Day
(James Smith, “Strength for the Day” 1859)
“As your days—so shall your strength be.” Deuteronomy 33:25
This promise which ensures us suitable and sufficient strength for all future days—is made by One who loves us dearly. Loves us—but who shall describe, who can suitably represent His love!
It is Infinite love—and cannot be comprehended!
It is Eternal love—and cannot be measured!
It is Unchangeable love—and cannot be diverted from its objects!
It is Sovereign love—and was fixed on them without anything in them to attract or draw it toward them! It is Divine love— deeper than a father’s love;
more tender than a mother’s love; stronger than a husband’s love.
This Divine love is . . . a fire that cannot be quenched, an ocean that cannot be exhausted, a sun that will never set!
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His sheep feed in the midst of wolves!
(Letters of John Newton)
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need!” Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my Shepherd! This is a comprehensive word. The sheep can do nothing for themselves. The Shepherd must guide, guard, feed, heal and recover. It is well for us—that our Shepherd is the Lord Almighty! If His power, care, compassion and fullness were not infinite—the poor sheep would be forsaken, starved and die! But we have a Shepherd full of care, full of kindness, full of power, who has said, “I will search for My lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak!” Ezekiel 34:16. How tender are these expressions, and how well fulfilled! His sheep feed in the midst of wolves—yet are safely preserved; for, though they cannot see Him—His eye and His heart are ever upon them!
Which of God’s children have not cause to say, “My soul is among lions!” But our Shepherd stops their mouths, or only permits them to gape and roar, and show their teeth. He does not allow them to bite and tear us at their will. Let us trust our Shepherd—and all shall be well.
As to daily occurrences, it is best to trust that a daily portion of comforts and crosses—each one the most suitable to our case—is adjusted and appointed by the hand which was once nailed to the cross for us! We must trust, that where the path of duty and prudence leads us—that there is the best situation we could possibly be in, at that time.
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Because I am Crucified With Christ Joe Terrell
“For I am crucified with Christ…” Galatians 2.20
Theologically, Paul is setting forth an argument for the believer’s freedom from the law: he is no longer under the law, for by the very ministry of the law condemning and punishing the Lord Jesus as He bore their sin, the believer is set free from the law. The law simple cannot hold two men liable for the same sin. If the Law holds Christ responsible for my sin, then it must let me go. Thus, Paul says in another place (Acts 13.39) “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses.”
But what God did for us through Christ on Calvary He does in us through His Spirit. When the Spirit comes to convince one of God’s elect of “sin, and righteousness and judgment”, He crucifies that man in his heart. Such an act by the Holy Spirit convinces a man of his sinfulness, for a cross is an instrument of punishment for crimes against the law. Furthermore, the inward crucifixion of the Holy Spirit convinces a man of God’s just judgment, for the cross signifies, not mere punishment, but Divine curse, as it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”
But this would leave a man yet in his sins, suffering forever the pangs of a guilty conscience aggravated by the wrath of God. The Spirit goes one step further, for the child of God is not merely crucified in his heart, he is crucified with Christ. By this method, the Spirit convinces him of righteousness, even the righteousness of Christ. A crucified man is incapable of doing anything – he is nailed to a cross. As insane as this appears to the mind of the flesh, that thief’s only hope lay in another crucified man. Only an act of God can make a man see that. When we are crucified by the Spirit, we lose all hope in ourselves and cast our lot with another crucified man, the Lord Jesus.
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Only a man crucified by the Spirit of God can look at the crucified Christ and see a King coming into His kingdom. O blessed crucifixion!
I declare unto you the Gospel
I Corinthians 15: 1-4
The Gospel we preach is concerning the Son of God. If we take Christ out of the gospel we have no gospel at all. But this gospel is not the careless casting out of the name Jesus leaving men to their own evil imaginations and wicked minds to form opinions and ideas about. The gospel is no gospel at all without the clear declarations of Holy Scripture and the historical facts that are preserved in the Word of God. We must be told who He is, why He came, what He did, and where He is in order to call seeking sinners to repentance and faith.
The gospel Paul preached to the Corinthians, he declared to be according to the scriptures. We live in a day of much religion with little facts. If I must rest my eternal soul on Christ, let me be assured that He is the Christ of God and not another Jesus. The gospel Paul preached was a gospel that left his hearers standing upon it, hoping in it, continuing in it: God give me the grace to preach such a gospel!- Darvin Pruitt.
You were looking for happiness in the things of time and sense. Some bosom idol—some bright prospect—some well-planned scheme—some dream of love or ambition—was to be your paradise. You looked with eager delight upon the scene of happiness that you imagined lay outstretched before you, promising yourself days of health, and wealth, and comfort in this world. “You looked for much, and, behold, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away.” Haggai 1:9-Philpot.
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LOOK TO CHRIST- NOT THE LAW
A friend of mine once asked a certain divine in London what he thought of the law as the believer’s only rule of life? He replied, “The believer must look with one eye to Christ, and with the other to the law.” But he brought no more proof from the word of God than this author has, who attempts to prove it by the fitness of things. My friend replied, “Then every believer must squint.” However, there is no call for squinting in this matter; Christ says, “Look unto me, and be saved, all ye ends of the earth;” and adds, “I will keep that man in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on me ” and Paul tells us to “run the race set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Looking with one eye to the law, and with the other to Christ, is erring from wisdom’s rule of direction; which is, “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.” By William Huntington (The believer’s Rule of life extract)
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The weak, the sick, the burdened,
the little ones of His flock.
(from Winslow’s, “The Burden Cast upon God”)
How shall we, how can we, describe the tenderness of Christ towards His burdened
ones, and the gentleness with which He leads them? “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that are with young (the burdened).” Isaiah 40:11
You are wearied. Your deep afflictions are a burden. Your sinful heart is a burden. Your lack of faith, and love, and fruitfulness is a burden. You are, as it were, “with young,” passing through much sore and painful travail of soul, a burden to yourself, cast down and discouraged by reason of the hardness of the way.
But oh, blessed solace! Jesus leads you, and leads you gently. All others would drive you. Man would drive you, the world would drive you, Satan would drive you,
your own impulsive heart and blind judgment would drive you, and even the saints would drive you.
But Jesus leads you, and leads you tenderly, skillfully, and safely. He is the loving, careful Shepherd who does not overdrive His sheep; especially the weak, the sick, the burdened, the little ones of His flock.
Jesus knows your burden. The marvellous language of God is “I know their sorrows.”
He knows how your friend that loved you is gone like a shadow; how your gourd that
sheltered you is smitten in a night; how the voice that was the sweetest music to you
is hushed in the stillness of death; how the strong and beautiful staff that supported you is broken and lies a ruin in the dust.
Jesus knows all, and He is leading you through all. He is leading you by these very same dark providences; these events that seem so dark, these dealings that seem so mysterious, painful, and crushing. As Jesus thus gently leads, so let us meekly,
confidingly follow, believing that…. His hand is powerful, His heart is loving,
His eye is unslumbering, and that He is leading us by the right way home to be with Him forever!
“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that are with young (the burdened).” Isaiah 40:11