May 14
31
Only two families inhabit earth
(Henry Law, “Deuteronomy” 1858)
Only two families inhabit earth.
In principle,
in taste,
in habit,
in desire—
they are as separate as . . .
light from darkness,
cold from heat,
life from death.
There is the serpent’s seed.
There is the heaven-born race.
There is the world.
There is the little flock of grace.
There is the broad road.
There is the narrow way.
There are the sheep.
There are the goats.
Hence the importance of the question—
“Have you escaped from nature’s thraldom?
Do your feet tread the upward path of holiness?
Do you belong to Satan—or to Christ?”
—
A living personal Jesus!
(Archibald Brown, 1884)
“Christ is all!” Colossians 3:11
Christianity is all centered in a person! Conversion is not a mere change of human opinion; it is the devotion of the heart to a person. A converted man is not a man who just changes his views concerning certain facts, or theories, or doctrines — but he is a man whose heart has become devoted to a living Christ. All your religion, if it is worth anything — will be centered in a living personal Jesus.
Your doctrines will all come from Him;
your motives will be found in Him
your joys will be found in Him;
your acceptance will be found in Him;
your completeness will be found in Him!
“You are complete in Him!” Colossians 2:10
—
Coming up from the wilderness
(J. C. Philpot, “Coming up from the Wilderness” 1857)
“Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her Beloved?” Song of Solomon 8:5
To come up from the wilderness, is to come up out
of OURSELVES; for we are ourselves the wilderness.
It is our wilderness heart that makes the world
what it is to us . . .
our own barren frames;
our own bewildered minds;
our own worthlessness and inability;
our own lack of spiritual fruitfulness;
our own trials, temptations, and exercises;
our own hungering and thirsting after righteousness.
In a word, it is what passes in our own bosom
that makes the world to us a dreary desert.
Carnal people find the world no wilderness. It is an
Eden to them! Or at least they try hard to make it so.
They seek all their pleasure from, and build all their
happiness upon it. Nor do they dream of any other
harvest of joy and delight, but what may be repaid
in this ‘happy valley’, where youth, health, and good
spirits are ever imagining new scenes of gratification.
But the child of grace, exercised with a thousand
difficulties, passing through many temporal and
spiritual sorrows, and inwardly grieved with his own
lack of heavenly fruitfulness, finds the wilderness
within.
But he still comes up out of it, and this he does
by looking upward with believing eyes to Him who
alone can bring him out.
He comes up out of his own righteousness, and
shelters himself under Christ’s righteousness.
He comes up out of his own strength,
and trusts to Christ’s strength.
He comes up out of his own wisdom,
and hangs upon Jesus’ wisdom.
He comes up out of his own tempted, tried,
bewildered, and perplexed condition, to find rest
and peace in the finished work of the Son of God.
And thus he comes up out of the wilderness of
self, not actually, but experimentally. Every desire
of his soul to be delivered from his ‘wilderness
sickening sight’ that he has of sin and of himself
as a sinner. Every aspiration after Jesus, every
longing look, earnest sigh, piteous cry, or laboring
groan, all are a coming up from the wilderness.
His turning his back upon an ungodly world; renouncing
its pleasures, its honors, its pride, and its ambition;
seeking communion with Jesus as his chief delight;
and accounting all things but loss and rubbish for
the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus his Lord
as revealed to his soul by the power of God; this,
also, is coming up from the wilderness.
—
An experimental Christian?
(Winslow, “This God is Our God”)
The religion of the true believer is experimental;
it is the religion of the heart. He has no dealings
with an unknown, imaginary God.
He does not know God from the hearing of the ear,
or from the reading of books, or from the religious
conversation of others merely; but He knows Him
from personal acquaintance, from heartfelt
experience, from close and constant dealings.
There has been a manifestation of God in Christ to his
soul, and with Job he can say, “I have heard of You
by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You.”
And with the converted Samaritans, “We no longer
believe just because of what you said; now we have
heard for ourselves, and we know that this man
really is the Savior of the world.” John 4:42
Oh to be a true, an experimental Christian!
The religion of the ear, or of the eye, or of the
imagination, or of the intellect, will not, and
cannot bring the soul to heaven!
The abodes of endless woe are peopled with
souls who went down to its regions of despair
with no better religion than this!
Oh, give me…
the humility of the publican,
the trembling faith of the diseased woman,
the flowing tears of the penitent Magdalene,
the last petition of the dying thief,
rather than the most intellectual religion or
the most gorgeous ceremonial that the mind
ever invented, or the eye ever beheld.
—
Hope in Heaven
James Smith, 1855
Many Christians have but little in hand — but they have much in hope. They have little on earth — but they have unsearchable wealth in Heaven. The present, is the worst state they will ever be in. All beyond death — is bright, beamy, and glorious. God has amply provided for them, and what he has provided is laid up securely in Heaven. Hence, Paul speaks of “the hope which is laid up for you in Heaven, whereof you heard before in the Word of the truth of the gospel” (Colossians 1:5). The Christian’s hope is a confident expectation of future good — but here hope is put for the object hoped for: the believer’s hope is . . .
produced by grace,
quickened by the promise, and
centers in invisible blessedness!
Let us notice —
First, The Christian’s hope. This consists in both freedom and possession. In freedom from . . .
all the pains which we now experience, both in mind and body;
all the hindrances which are so thickly strewed in our way in this present world;
all the fears which now beset, agitate, and harass us, day by day;
all the forebodings which often make our lives bitter and gloomy;
all sin which is now our plague, disease, and torment;
all our needs, and all possibility of needing — for God will fully supply all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Oh, what a mercy it will be to enjoy such freedom, and to possess the inward consciousness that it will be enjoyed forever!
The Christian will not only be free from all that is painful and distressing — but he will also possess . . .
perfect, settled, and everlasting peace;
sinless faculties and immortal powers with which to serve and enjoy God forever;
permanent, perpetual, and uninterrupted joy;
the presence and enjoyment of Jesus — we shall see Him, be with Him, and be like Him;
ALL that we can consistently wish, desire, or pray for!
O glorious hope! O blessed prospect! It leaves us nothing to long for, nothing to desire!
Second, The Christian’s hope is laid up for him in Heaven.
It is laid up — that is, the substance of it is ready. It is laid up for us, therefore God appointed it for us. Jesus says it is a kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world. If it is laid up for us, there our hearts and our affections should be.
It is laid up for us in Heaven. This betokens . . .
its excellency, being kept in so excellent a place;
its certainty and security, no thieves can break through to steal;
its nature, it is spiritual, holy, Heavenly.
It is laid up in Heaven for you. This shows . . .
that Jehovah knew all for whom he provided;
that a man may know whether he has a hope laid up in Heaven or not;
that well-instructed Christians do know and enjoy the fact.
What rich grace has God displayed, in providing an inheritance in Heaven for us, and preparing us for that inheritance.
Thirdly, The means by which he becomes acquainted with it, is the gospel. God’s gospel is the good news that he has given unto us eternal life. It contains the promise that all who believe in Jesus shall possess that life. It assures us, that all who sincerely desire it and earnestly seek for it — shall find it. It is called the Word of truth because it is the true Word, or every Word of it is truth; because Christ, who is the truth, is its author, object, and end.
Have we received the gospel? Did we understand it as informing us that God had made glorious provision for us in Heaven? Did it beget hope in our hearts that we would possess the kingdom promised to believers? Do we feel satisfied that the gospel is the true Word, and that every jot and tittle of it must be accomplished?
What a mercy it is . . .
when comforts run short,
when trials press sore,
when a dreary winter of affliction sets in
— to remember that we have a priceless inheritance — an inheritance that is kept in heaven for us — pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay!
How this blessed hope should . . .
quicken our zeal,
animate our spirits, and
raise us above fear and despondency.
It is not what we have now — but what we shall have in Heaven — which should affect us. The poor in this world, if rich in faith — are heirs of the kingdom which God has promised to those who love him. Oh, for clear views, bright evidences, and a steady hope of everlasting joys! Now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be — but when Jesus shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Our glorious inheritance is vast beyond calculation, it is safe beyond the possibility of failure — but we must pass over Jordan to possess it. It is on the other side of the river, in the promised land. Let us, therefore, gird up the loins of our minds, he sober, and hope steadily for the grace that is to he brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ, The wilderness will soon be passed, the storms of life will soon subside — and then eternal calm and unclouded sunshine, will soon be our happy, endless portion. All glory to free grace!
—
HOPE IN CHRIST ALONE
If there is any grace in me, God put it there. Twas grace that set me apart in distinguishing love before the stars were made. Twas grace that set me apart from the mass of mankind. Twas grace that brought me safe this far, and grace will lead me home. Lay the foundation of your hope in Jesus Christ. Begin with Christ and end with Christ. As Christ Jesus becomes more to you, self will grow less and less. If your faith puffs you up, it is not the faith of Christ. God will help us when we are weak. He will bless us as long as we confess our dependence upon His blessing. He will fill us when we are empty. He will feed us when we are hungry. He will be our all when we are nothing. He will forgive us when we are guilty. But the moment we begin to boast in ourselves and feel sufficient, we will be left to learn, in no uncertain terms, that we are naked, poor, blind, and miserable. Terrible will be the day when proud rebels discover, too late, the dust and ashes of human merit! – John Newton