William Huntington<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the law glorious, holy, just, good, spiritual, true, and\neternal? Let it be so. Christ is the”express image of the Father’s person,\nand the brightness of his glory.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the law holy? Christ is the holy one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the law just? Christ is the just one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the law good? Christ is the good shepherd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the law spiritual? Christ is the Lord from heaven, the\nquickening spirit; yea, the resurrection, and the life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the law true? Christ is the true God and eternal life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the law eternal? Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the first and\nthe last. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Does the law say thou shalt fear thy God? here is a servant on\nwhom the spirit of the fear of the Lord rested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Does it say thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart?\nHere is a person that is really God, and God is love; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
does the law say, thou shalt be holy, for I the Lord thy God am\nholy? here is one that is holy as God, holy as man, and holy as Godman, who was\nborn a holy thing, never conceived an unholy thought, never spoke an unholy\nword, nor made an unholy slip with his feet; “which of you convinceth me\nof sin; and if I speak the truth, why do ye not believe me?” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The devil himself justified him, when he said, “I know thee\nwho thou art, the holy One of God;” Judas justified him also, when he\nsaid, “I have sinned against innocent blood;” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pilate justifed him, when he “washed his hands and said, I am\ninnocent of the blood of this just person, see ye to it.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His wife justified him when she said, “have thou nothing to\ndo with that just person, for I have suffered many this night in a dream\nbecause of him;” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the company of murderers justified him, when “they smote on\ntheir breasts, and said, Truly this was the Son of God.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The soldiers justified him, when they declared the “angels\nfrom heaven had rolled away the stone and sat upon it;” and <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the rulers justified him, when they said, “Take this money\nand say that his disciples came by night and stole him away; and if this comes\nto the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you;” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
God the Father justified him by raising him from the dead, and us\nwith him; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
God the Holy Ghost justifies him by testifying of his\nresurrection, and of his righteousness to every believer; and the Saviour\njustified himself by confounding every false witness at his trial, and striking\nhis adversaries to the ground when they came to take him; (to fulfil the words\nof the Psalmist “when they came to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and\nfell.”) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“And his incomparably great power for us who believe. That\npower is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ\nwhen he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the\nheavenly realms.” Ephesians 1:19, 20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is no great mystery that the Son of God should be exalted to\nthe throne of power. It is but a step from the bosom of the Father to his right\nhand. But that one in our nature should be exalted to that seat of pre-eminence\nand power; that the Mediator between God and man should be the man Christ\nJesus; that the hands which once were nailed to the cross should now hold the\nscepter, and that the feet which once walked on Lake Gennesaret, which were\nweary and dust-soiled at Jacob’s well, which were washed with a sinful woman’s\ntears and kissed in penitential grief and love with polluted lips–that these\nvery feet should now have all things put under them both in heaven and earth–there\nis the mystery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And yet what food for faith. The living family of God need a\nliving Savior, one who can hear and answer prayer, deliver out of soul-trouble,\nspeak a word with power to the heart when bowed down with grief and sorrow,\nsympathize with them under powerful temptations, support them under the trials\nand afflictions of the way, maintain under a thousand discouragements his own\nlife in their soul, sustain under bereavements the mourning widow, and be a\nfather to her fatherless children; appear again and again in providence as a\nfriend that loves at all times and a brother born for adversity, smile upon\nthem in death, and comforting them with his rod and staff as they walk through\nthe valley of its dark shadow, land them at last safely in a happy eternity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n How solemn is the reflection that with a new cycle of time\ncommences, with each traveler to Zion, a new and untrodden path! New events in\nhis history will transpire- new scenes in the panorama of life will unfold- new\nphases of character will develop- new temptations will assail- new duties will\ndevolve- new trials will be experienced- new sorrows will be felt- new\nfriendships will be formed- and new mercies will be bestowed. How truly may it\nbe said of the pilgrim journeying through the wilderness to his eternal home,\nas he stands upon the threshold of this untried period of his existence,\npondering the unknown and uncertain future, “You have not passed this way\nheretofore!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reader! if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, you will enter\nupon a new stage of your journey by a renewed surrender of yourself to the\nLord. You will make the cross the starting-point of a fresh setting-out in the\nheavenly race. Oh, commence this year with a renewed application to the\n“blood of sprinkling.” There is vitality in that blood; and its fresh\nsprinkling on your conscience will be as a new impartation of spiritual life to\nyour soul. Oh, to begin the year with a broken heart for sin, beneath the cross\nof Immanuel! looking through that cross to the heart of a loving, forgiving\nFather. Do not be anxious about the future; all that future God has provided\nfor. “All my times are in Your hands.” “Casting all your care\nupon Him, for He cares for you.” “Cast your burden upon the Lord, and\nHe shall sustain you.” Let it be a year of more spiritual advance.\n“Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward.” Forward in\nthe path of duty- forward in the path of suffering- forward in the path of\nconflict- forward in the path of labor- and forward in the path to eternal rest\nand glory. Soon will that rest be reached, and that glory appear. This new year\nmay be the jubilant year of your soul- the year of your release. Oh\nspirit-stirring, ecstatic thought- this year I may be in heaven!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wrought with divine power<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (J. C. Philpot, “The Veil Taken Away” 1844)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Our gospel came to you not simply with words,<\/p>\n\n\n\n but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and<\/p>\n\n\n\n with deep conviction.” 1 Thessalonians 1:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most men’s religion is nothing else but<\/p>\n\n\n\n ‘a round of forms’ . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n some have their ‘doings’,<\/p>\n\n\n\n some have their ‘doctrines’,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and others have their ‘duties’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when the one has performed his doings,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the other learned his doctrines, and the third<\/p>\n\n\n\n discharged his duties\u2014why, he is as good a<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christian, he thinks, as anybody. While all the<\/p>\n\n\n\n time, the poor deceived creature is thoroughly<\/p>\n\n\n\n ignorant of the kingdom of God, which stands<\/p>\n\n\n\n not in simply in word\u2014but in power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But as the veil of ignorance is taken off the heart,<\/p>\n\n\n\n we begin to see and feel that there is a power in<\/p>\n\n\n\n vital godliness\u2014a reality in the teachings of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spirit\u2014that religion is not to be put on and put<\/p>\n\n\n\n off as a man puts on and off his Sunday clothes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where vital godliness is wrought with divine power<\/p>\n\n\n\n in a man’s heart, and preached by the Holy Spirit into<\/p>\n\n\n\n his conscience\u2014it mingles, daily and often hourly,<\/p>\n\n\n\n with his thoughts\u2014entwines itself with his feelings<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014and becomes the very food and drink of his soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now when a man comes to this spot\u2014to see and feel<\/p>\n\n\n\n what a reality there is in the things of God made<\/p>\n\n\n\n manifest in the conscience by the power of the Holy<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spirit\u2014it effectually takes him out of dead churches,<\/p>\n\n\n\n cuts him off from false ministers, winnows the chaff<\/p>\n\n\n\n from the wheat, and brings him into close communion<\/p>\n\n\n\n with the broken-hearted family of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Our gospel came to you not simply with words,<\/p>\n\n\n\n but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and<\/p>\n\n\n\n with deep conviction.” 1 Thessalonians 1:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n GOD’S WORD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n by Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n “He sends forth his commandment upon earth:<\/p>\n\n\n\n His word runs very swiftly” (Psalm 147:15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n No language ever stirs the deeps of my nature like the Word of<\/p>\n\n\n\n God, and none produces such a profound calm within my spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As no other voice can,<\/p>\n\n\n\n it melts me to tears,<\/p>\n\n\n\n it humbles me in the dust,<\/p>\n\n\n\n it fires me with enthusiasm,<\/p>\n\n\n\n it fills me with pleasure,<\/p>\n\n\n\n it elevates me to holiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every faculty of my being owns the power of the sacred Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It sweetens my memory,<\/p>\n\n\n\n it brightens my hope,<\/p>\n\n\n\n it stimulates my imagination,<\/p>\n\n\n\n it directs my judgment,<\/p>\n\n\n\n it commands my will, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n it cheers my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The word of man charms me for the time,<\/p>\n\n\n\n but I outlive and outgrow its power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is altogether the reverse with the Word of the King of kings;<\/p>\n\n\n\n it rules me more sovereignly, more practically, more habitually,<\/p>\n\n\n\n more completely every day. Its power is for all seasons–for<\/p>\n\n\n\n sickness and for health, for solitude and for company, for<\/p>\n\n\n\n personal emergencies and for public assemblies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had sooner have the Word of God at my back than all the<\/p>\n\n\n\n armies and navies of all the great powers, aye, than all the<\/p>\n\n\n\n forces of nature; for the Word of the Lord is the source of<\/p>\n\n\n\n all the power in the universe, and within it there is an\ninfinite<\/p>\n\n\n\n supply in reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A peculiar, indescribable, invincible power<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Philpot, “The Word of Men and the Word of God”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Our gospel did not come to you in word only,<\/p>\n\n\n\n but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and<\/p>\n\n\n\n with deep conviction.” 1 Thes. 1:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gospel comes to some in word only. They<\/p>\n\n\n\n hear the word of the gospel, the sound of truth;<\/p>\n\n\n\n but it reaches the outward ear only\u2014or if it touches<\/p>\n\n\n\n the inward feelings, it is merely as the word of men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But where the Holy Spirit begins and carries on<\/p>\n\n\n\n His divine and saving work, He attends the word<\/p>\n\n\n\n with a peculiar, an indescribable, and yet an<\/p>\n\n\n\n invincible power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It falls as from God upon the heart. He is heard to<\/p>\n\n\n\n speak in it\u2014and in it His glorious Majesty appears<\/p>\n\n\n\n to open the eyes, unstop the ears, and convey a<\/p>\n\n\n\n message from His own mouth to the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some hear the gospel as the mere word of men,<\/p>\n\n\n\n perhaps for years before God speaks in it with a<\/p>\n\n\n\n divine power to their conscience. They thought<\/p>\n\n\n\n they understood the gospel\u2014they thought they<\/p>\n\n\n\n felt it\u2014they thought they loved it. But all this<\/p>\n\n\n\n time they did not see any vital distinction between<\/p>\n\n\n\n receiving it as the mere word of men, and as the<\/p>\n\n\n\n word of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The levity, the superficiality, the emptiness stamped<\/p>\n\n\n\n upon all who merely receive the gospel as the word<\/p>\n\n\n\n of men\u2014is sufficient evidence that it never sank<\/p>\n\n\n\n deep into the heart, and never took any powerful<\/p>\n\n\n\n grasp upon their soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It therefore never brought with it any real separation<\/p>\n\n\n\n from the world\u2014never gave strength to mortify the least<\/p>\n\n\n\n sin\u2014never communicated power to escape the least snare<\/p>\n\n\n\n of Satan\u2014was never attended with a spirit of grace and<\/p>\n\n\n\n prayer\u2014never brought honesty, sincerity, and uprightness<\/p>\n\n\n\n into the heart before God\u2014never bestowed any spirituality<\/p>\n\n\n\n of mind, or any loving affection toward the Lord of life and<\/p>\n\n\n\n glory. It was merely the reception of truth in the same way<\/p>\n\n\n\n as we receive scientific principles, or learn a language, a<\/p>\n\n\n\n business, or a trade. It was all . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n shallow,<\/p>\n\n\n\n superficial,<\/p>\n\n\n\n deceptive,<\/p>\n\n\n\n hypocritical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in some unexpected moment, when little looking<\/p>\n\n\n\n for it, the word of God was brought into their conscience<\/p>\n\n\n\n with a power never experienced before. A light shone in<\/p>\n\n\n\n and through it which they never saw before . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n a majesty,<\/p>\n\n\n\n a glory,<\/p>\n\n\n\n an authority,<\/p>\n\n\n\n an evidence<\/p>\n\n\n\n accompanied it which they never knew before. And<\/p>\n\n\n\n under this light, life, and power they fell down, with<\/p>\n\n\n\n the word of God sent home to their heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When then Christ speaks the gospel to the heart\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n when He reveals Himself to the soul\u2014when His word,<\/p>\n\n\n\n dropping as the rain and distilling as the dew, is<\/p>\n\n\n\n received in faith and love\u2014He is embraced as the<\/p>\n\n\n\n chief among ten thousand and the altogether lovely<\/p>\n\n\n\n one\u2014He takes His seat upon the affections and<\/p>\n\n\n\n becomes enthroned in the heart as its Lord and God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is there life in your bosom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Has God’s power attended the work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is the grace of God really in your heart?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Has God spoken to your soul?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you heard His voice, felt its power,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and fallen under its influence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n “And we also thank God continually because,<\/p>\n\n\n\n when you received the word of God, which you<\/p>\n\n\n\n heard from us, you accepted it not as the word<\/p>\n\n\n\n of men, but as it actually is, the word of God,<\/p>\n\n\n\n which is effectually at work in you who believe.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Thes. 2:13<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" William Huntington Is the law glorious, holy, just, good, spiritual, true, and eternal? Let it be so. Christ is the”express image of the Father’s person, and the brightness of his glory.” Is the law holy? Christ is the holy one. Is the law just? Christ is the just one. Is the law good? Christ is […]<\/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-5842","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\/5842","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=5842"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5843,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5842\/revisions\/5843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}