How can they escape?
\nJ.C.Philpot
\nWhy, the Lord ‘keeps their feet’. He carries them
\nthrough every rough place\u2014as a tender parent
\ncarries a little child. When about to fall\u2014He
\ngraciously lays His everlasting arms underneath
\nthem. And when tottering and stumbling, and
\ntheir feet ready to slip\u2014He mercifully upholds
\nthem from falling altogether.
\n
\nBut do you think that He has not different ways
\nfor different feet? The God of creation has not
\nmade two flowers, nor two leaves upon a tree
\nalike\u2014and will He cause all His people to walk
\nin precisely the same path? No. We have . . .
\neach our path,
\neach our troubles,
\neach our trials,
\neach peculiar traps and snares laid for our feet.
\n
\nAnd the wisdom of the all-wise God is shown by His
\neyes being in every place\u2014marking the footsteps of
\nevery pilgrim\u2014suiting His remedies to meet their
\nindividual case and necessity\u2014appearing for them
\nwhen nobody else could do them any good\u2014watching
\nso tenderly over them, as though the eyes of His
\naffection were bent on one individual\u2014and carefully
\nnoting the goings of each, as though all the powers
\nof the Godhead were concentrated on that one
\nperson to keep him from harm!
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nAdored be the grace which . . .
\nkeeps us from falling,
\nseeks us when we are wandering,
\nheals our soul-sicknesses, and
\npardons our innumerable follies.
\nJohn Newton
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nRiver of God
\nC.H.Spurgeon
\nThe river of God is full of water; but there is not one drop of it that
\ncomes from earthly springs. God will have no strength used in His own
\nbattles but the strength which He himself imparts; and I would not have
\nyou that are now distressed to be the least discouraged by it. Your
\nemptiness is but the preparation for your being filled; and your casting
\ndown is but the making ready for your lifting up.
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n“The church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood.” Acts\n20:28
\nJ.C.Philpot
\nAtonement for sin stands or falls with the Deity of Christ. If we deny
\nhis Deity, we must deny the atonement, for what value or merit can there
\nbe in the blood of a mere man that God, for its sake, should pardon
\nmillions of sins? This the Socinians clearly see, and therefore deny the
\natonement altogether. But if there be no atonement, no sacrifice, no
\natoning sacrifice for sin, where can we look for pardon and peace?
\nWhichever way we turn our eyes there is despair.
\nBut when by the eye of faith we see the Son of God obeying the law,
\nrendering, by doing and dying, acting and suffering, a satisfaction to
\nthe violated justice of the Most High and offering a sacrifice for sin,
\nthen we see such a glory and such a value breathing through every
\nthought, word, and action of his suffering humanity, that we embrace him
\nand all that he is and has, with every desire and affection of our
\nregenerated soul. All our religion lies here; all our faith, hope, and
\nlove flow unto, and are, as it were, fixed and concentrated in Jesus
\nChrist, and him crucified; and without a measure of this in our heart
\nand conscience, we have no religion worth the name, nothing that either
\nsaves or sanctifies–nothing that delivers from the guilt, filth, love,
\npower, and practice of sin–nothing that supports in life, comforts in
\ndeath, or fits for eternity.
\nThe way, then, whereby we come to a knowledge of, and a faith in, the
\nDeity of Christ is first by feeling a need of all that he is as a
\nSavior, and a great one, and then having a manifestation of him by the
\nblessed Spirit to our soul. When he is thus revealed and brought near,
\nwe see, by the eye of faith, his pure and perfect humanity and his
\neternal Deity; and these two distinct natures we see combined, but not
\nintermingled, in one glorious Person, Immanuel, God with us. Until thus
\nfavored we may see the Deity of Christ in the Scriptures, and have so
\nfar a belief in it, but we have not that personal appropriating faith
\nwhereby, with Thomas, we can say, “My Lord and my God.”
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world\u2014but for those You have
\ngiven Me, for they are Yours!” John 17:9.
\nC.H.Spurgeon
\nThe Lord Jesus cherishes a special affection for the church, which is
\nset upon her above the rest of mankind. The elect church is . . .
\nthe favorite of Heaven,
\nthe treasure of Christ,
\nthe crown of His head,
\nthe bracelet of His arm,
\nthe breastplate of His heart,
\nthe very center and core of His love!
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nThat sympathizing, merciful, feeling,
\ntender, and compassionate heart
\nJ.C.Philpot
\n“For we do not have a High Priest who is unable
\nto sympathize with our infirmities.” Hebrews 4:15
\n
\nThe child of God, spiritually taught and convinced,
\nis deeply sensible of his infirmities. Yes, that he is
\nencompassed with infirmities\u2014that he is nothing else
\nbut infirmities. And therefore the great High Priest
\nto whom he comes as a burdened sinner\u2014to whom
\nhe has recourse in the depth of his extremity\u2014and
\nat whose feet he falls overwhelmed with a sense
\nof his helplessness, sin, misery, and guilt\u2014is so
\nsuitable to him as one able to sympathize with
\nhis infirmities.
\n
\nWe would, if left to our own conceptions, naturally
\nimagine that Jesus is too holy to look down in
\ncompassion on a filthy, guilty wretch like ourselves.
\n
\nSurely, surely, He will spurn us from His feet. Surely,
\nsurely, His holy eyes cannot look upon us in our . . .
\nblood,
\nguilt,
\nfilth,
\nwretchedness,
\nmisery,
\nand shame.
\n
\nSurely, surely, He cannot bestow . . .
\none heart’s thought,
\none moment’s sympathy,
\nor feel one spark of love
\ntowards those who are so unlike Him.
\n
\nNature, sense, and reason would thus argue,
\n“I must be holy\u2014perfectly holy\u2014for Jesus to love;
\nI must be pure\u2014perfectly pure\u2014spotless and
\nsinless, for Jesus to think of. But . . .
\nthat I, a sinful, guilty, defiled wretch;
\nthat I, encompassed with infirmities;
\nthat I, whose heart is a cage of unclean birds;
\nthat I, stained and polluted with a thousand iniquities;
\nthat I can have any inheritance in Him\u2014or that He can
\nhave any love or compassion towards me\u2014nature, sense,
\nreason, and human religion in all its shapes and forms,
\nrevolts from the idea.”
\n
\nIt is as though Jesus specially address Himself to the
\npoor, burdened child of God who feels his infirmities,
\nwho cannot boast of his own wisdom, strength,
\nrighteousness, and consistency\u2014but is all weakness
\nand helplessness. It seems as if He would address
\nHimself to the case of such a helpless wretch\u2014and
\npour a sweet cordial into his bleeding conscience.
\n
\nWe, the children of God\u2014we, who each knows his own
\nplague and his own sore\u2014we, who carry about with us
\nday by day a body of sin and death, that makes us
\nlament, sigh, and groan\u2014we, who know painfully what
\nit is to be encompassed with infirmities\u2014we, who come
\nto His feet as being nothing and having nothing but sin
\nand woe\u2014”we do not have a High Priest who is unable
\nto sympathize with our infirmities,” but One who carries
\nin His bosom that . . .
\nsympathizing,
\nmerciful,
\nfeeling,
\ntender, and
\ncompassionate heart.
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n“So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into
\nheaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” Mark 16:19
\nOctavius Winslow
\nThe circumstance of the Lord’s ascension and exaltation meets with
\nfrequent and marked allusion in the word of God. The Holy Spirit has
\nattached to the fact the greatest weight. The writings of the Old
\nTestament frequently and distinctly speak of it. Thus, in Psalm 47:5,
\n“God is gone up with a shout; the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.”\nIt
\nis impossible to misunderstand the obvious allusion of these words. He
\ncame down as God; He went up as “God manifest in the flesh.” The
\nascension was worthy of His Deity. It was royal and triumphant. He went
\nup as a “great King,” and as a mighty Conqueror, “leading\ncaptivity
\ncaptive.” Attended by a celestial escort, and amid the shouts and
\nacclamations of all the heavenly hierarchy, He passed within the portals
\nof glory. The demand was made, the challenge was given, the answer was
\nreturned: “Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be you lift up, you
\neverlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King
\nof glory? The Lord strong and mighty\u2014the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up
\nyour heads, O you gates; even lift them up, you everlasting doors; and
\nthe King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of
\nhosts, He is the King of glory.” Yes, our Immanuel, God with us, is
\n“gone up with a shout;” the Lord, JEHOVAH-JESUS, “with the sound\nof a
\ntrumpet.” And although no echo of the heavenly minstrelsy was heard on
\nearth, and the cloud which received Him veiled His receding form from
\nthe gaze of His disciples, hiding from the view the deepening glory
\nwhich encircled His ascending flight, yet all heaven reverberated with
\nthe song, and grew resplendent with the majesty of His entrance within
\nits gates.
\n
\nThe scene and the circumstances of our Lord’s ascension were of
\nthrilling interest, and deeply spiritual in their meaning. The period,
\nwhich it is important distinctly to specify, was just forty days after
\nHis resurrection; thus affording ample time to establish, by the most
\nirrefragable proof and tangible evidence, this master-fact of His
\nhistory. Not only did He take this occasion to answer all the
\nreasonings, and resolve all the doubts, of His still incredulous
\ndisciples, but He crowded into this brief space of time instructions the
\nmost needed, precious, and momentous to the well-being of His church.
\nDrawing closer around Him, as if by the new and more powerful attraction
\nof His risen body, His devoted apostles\u2014the future builders of His
\nspiritual temple\u2014He proceeds to renew their divine commission to preach
\nthe gospel, widening it to the exigencies of the world that gospel was
\nintended to bless. Opening their understandings more perfectly to
\nunderstand the Scriptures, He cleared and enlarged their view of His
\nDivine nature, the spiritual character of His kingdom, and the offices,
\nordinances, and discipline which were to be observed in each
\ngospel-constituted section of His church. Thus, even after His atoning
\nwork was finished, and the great seal of heaven was affixed to it, our
\nadorable Lord was still engaged in His Father’s business, still intent
\nupon promoting His glory, and the eternal welfare of His people. Oh,
\nwhat love was the love of our Immanuel!
\n
\nLet us now ascend in spirit with Jesus, and contemplate the glory of His
\nexaltation. His entrance into heaven was the signal for the full
\ndevelopment of His mediatorial power and glory. This was the promise of
\nHis Father, and this the reward of His death. “I have set my King upon
\nmy holy hill of Zion.” “Unto the Son He says, Your throne, O God, is\nfor
\never and ever.” “I appoint unto you,” says Christ, “a\nkingdom, as my
\nFather has appointed unto me.” Thus His exaltation at the right hand of
\nthe Father was His full induction into His mediatorial kingdom. Now was
\nHe exalted “heir of all things”\u2014now were “all things put under\nHis
\nfeet”\u2014now “all power in heaven and on earth was given to Him;”\nand from
\nthat moment that He touched the crown, and grasped the scepter, and the
\ngovernment was placed upon His shoulder, His truth was to advance, and
\nHis kingdom widen, with ever-growing power, until, supplanting all
\nerror, and subduing all kingdoms, He was to reign “King of kings and
\nLord of lords.”
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nThe Great Worker of Salvation
\nC.H.Spurgeon
\nThe great King, immortal, invisible, the Divine person, called the Holy
\nSpirit\u2014it is He who stimulates the soul, or else it would lie dead
\nforever; it is He who makes it tender, or else it would never feel; it
\nis He who imparts power to the Word preached, or else it could never
\nreach further than the ear; it is He who breaks the heart, it is He who
\nmakes it whole; He, from first to last, is the great worker of Salvation
\nin us, just as Jesus Christ was the author of Salvation for us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How can they escape? J.C.Philpot Why, the Lord ‘keeps their feet’. He carries them through every rough place\u2014as a tender parent carries a little child. When about to fall\u2014He graciously lays His everlasting arms underneath them. And when tottering and stumbling, and their feet ready to slip\u2014He mercifully upholds them from falling altogether. But do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5580"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5581,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5580\/revisions\/5581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}