The altar and the tent give us the two great features of\nAbraham’s character: a worshipper of God and a stranger in the world, having\nnothing on earth, having our all in God. Abraham had \u201cnot so much as to set his\nfoot upon,\u201d but he had God to enjoy and that was enough. \n <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scott Richardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The more lovely does Jesus appear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The poor believer feels, “I continually find all kinds<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of evil working in my mind; every base corruption<\/p>\n\n\n\n
crawling in my heart; everything vile, sensual, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
filthy rising up from its abominable deeps. Can I<\/p>\n\n\n\n
think that God can look down in love and mercy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
on such a wretch?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we see . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
our vileness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
our baseness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
our carnality,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
our sensuality,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
how our souls cleave to dust,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
how we grovel in evil and hateful things,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
how dark our minds,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
how earthly our affections,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
how depraved our hearts,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
how strong our lusts,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
how raging our passions;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
we feel ourselves, at times, no more<\/p>\n\n\n\n
fit for God than Satan himself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You see, at just the right time, when we were<\/p>\n\n\n\n
utterly helpless, Christ died for the ungodly!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Romans 5:6<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christ does not justify those who are naturally<\/p>\n\n\n\n
righteous, holy, and religious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But He takes the sinner as he is, in all his filth<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and guilt; washes him in the fountain opened<\/p>\n\n\n\n
for sin and uncleanness; and clothes the naked<\/p>\n\n\n\n
shivering wretch, who has nothing to cover him<\/p>\n\n\n\n
but filthy rags, in His own robe of righteousness!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The gospel of the grace of God brings glad tidings . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of pardon to the criminal,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of mercy to the guilty, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of salvation to the lost!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That the holy God should look down in love on<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wretches that deserve the damnation of hell; that<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the pure and spotless Jehovah should pity, save,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and bless enemies and rebels, and make them<\/p>\n\n\n\n
endless partakers of His own glory; this indeed<\/p>\n\n\n\n
is a mystery, the depth of which eternity itself<\/p>\n\n\n\n
will not fathom!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deeper we sink in self-abasement under a<\/p>\n\n\n\n
sense of our vileness, the higher we rise in a<\/p>\n\n\n\n
knowledge of Christ. And the blacker we are<\/p>\n\n\n\n
in our own view, the more lovely does Jesus<\/p>\n\n\n\n
appear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
J C Philpott <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away\nfrom me. Jeremiah 3:19<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fellowship with God is the highest, purest, sweetest mercy a\nsaint of God can have on earth. Yes, it is the highest, purest, sweetest bliss\nthe saints of God can have in heaven. What is the enjoyment of heaven? Not\nmerely exemption from trial, and freedom from sorrow, rest from toil, and\nrelease from conflict. Oh no! it is the presence- the full unclouded presence\nof our Father there. To be with Christ- to behold His glory- to gaze upon His\nface- to hear His voice- to feel the throbbings of His bosom- to bask in the\neffulgence of God’s presence- oh, this is heaven, the heaven of heaven!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The twilight of this glory we have here on earth. \u201dI am not\nalone,” can each sorrowful and banished soul exclaim, “because the\nFather is with me.” Yes, beloved, your own Father! “You shall call me\nmy Father.” In Jesus He is your Father- your reconciled, pacified Father-\nall whose thoughts that He thinks of you are peace, and all whose ways that He\ntakes with you are love. The presence, the voice, the smile of a parent, how\nprecious and soothing! especially when that presence is realised, and that\nvoice is heard, and that smile is seen in the dark, desolate hour of adversity.\nGod is our heavenly Parent. His presence, His care, His smiles are ever with\nHis children. And if there be a solitary child of the one family that shares\nthe richer in the blessing of the Father’s presence than another, it is the\nsick, the suffering, the lone, the chastened child. Yes, your Father is with\nyou ever. He is with you to cheer your loneliness, to sweeten your solitude, to\nsanctify your sorrow, to strengthen your weakness, to shield your person, to\npardon your sins, and to heal all your diseases. Hearken, in your deep\nsolitude, to His own touching words: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.\nDo not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you.\nI will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” Enough, my Father! if\nthus You are with me, I am not, I cannot be alone; and if such the bliss with\nwhich You do sweeten, and such the glory with which You do irradiate the\nsolitude of Your hidden ones, Lord, let me ever be a hidden one- shut out from\nall others, shut in alone with You!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Though you have not seen Him\u2014you love Him; and even though\nyou do not see Him now\u2014you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible\nand glorious joy!” 1 Peter 1:8\\<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1Pet. 1:8 Whom\nhaving not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him<\/em> not, yet\nbelieving, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1Pet. 1:9\nReceiving the end of your faith, even<\/em> the salvation of your<\/em>\nsouls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a spiritual sight of Christ\u2014which leads to confidence in\nHim, and love to Him. Many who saw Him with their bodily eyes\u2014despised and\nrejected Him. It is the revelation of Him by the Holy Spirit to the heart\u2014which\nleads to holy delight in Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we see how suited He is to us as perishing sinners\u2014then He\nbecomes precious to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the glories of His person, the perfection of His work, and\nthe love of His heart, are revealed to us\u2014then He becomes, in our estimation,\n“the chief among ten thousand,” and “the altogether lovely\nOne!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n When His love, in its freeness and fullness, is revealed to\nus\u2014then love is kindled in our hearts to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n May I be led to know more of the precious Saviour. May my\napprehensions of His compassion and grace be enlarged. May I comprehend the\nbreadth, and length, and depth, and height of His love! Though I have not seen\nHim, may I rejoice in Him with inexpressible and glorious joy. And may my love\nto Christ be evident . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n by my regard to His will,<\/p>\n\n\n\n by my concern for His glory, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n by a constant desire to live to His praise!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eph. 3:17 That\nChrist may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in\nlove,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eph. 3:18 May be\nable to comprehend with all saints what is<\/em> the breadth, and length, and\ndepth, and height;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eph. 3:19 And to\nknow the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with\nall the fulness of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Author unknown<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt His Feet\u2026\u201d Luke 7:38<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n If ever a man gets sight of Christ\u2019s saving fullness and\nmajestic glory, that man will be found \u201cat his feet\u201d. And he will be most happy\nto be found \u201cat his feet\u201d always. Oh, may the Lord ever bring us to bow \u201cat his\nfeet\u201d! This poor woman, who was a harlot, found her place at the Master\u2019s feet,\nand was justified. Let us follow her example. She came to his feet in Faith.\nShe stood at his feet in Hope. She wept at his feet in Brokenness. She washed\nhis feet in Reverence. She wiped his feet in Submission. She kissed his feet in\nAffection. She anointed his feet in Consecration. All that she possessed was\nconsecrated to the Lord. She devoted herself and all that she had to the\nMaster. In loving gratitude, she sacrificed her richest possessions to the\nLord. And she Found Forgiveness \u201cat his feet\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Jesus had not been their Saviour, their Shepherd, and their\nShield!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (John Newton)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gracious purposes to which the Lord makes the sense and\nfeeling of our depravity subservient, are manifold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hereby His own power, wisdom, faithfulness and love \u2014 are more\nsignally displayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His power is displayed \u2014 in maintaining His own work in the\nmidst of such opposition, like a spark burning in the water, or a bush\nunconsumed in the flames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His wisdom is displayed in defeating and controlling all the\ndevices which Satan \u2014 who, from his knowledge of the evil of our nature, is\nencouraged to practice his wily arts against us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The unchangeableness of the Lord’s love, and the riches of His\nmercy, are likewise more illustrated, by the multiplied pardons He bestows upon\nHis people \u2014 than if they needed no forgiveness at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hereby the Lord Jesus Christ is more endeared to the soul; all\nboasting is effectually excluded; and the glory of a full and free salvation is\nascribed to Him alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a long experience of their own deceitful hearts, after\nrepeated proofs of their weakness, wilfulness, ingratitude, and insensibility \u2014\nthey find that none of these things can separate them from the love of God \u2014\nand Jesus becomes more and more precious to their souls. They love much \u2014\nbecause much has been forgiven them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They dare not, they will not ascribe anything to themselves, but\nare glad to acknowledge that they would have perished a thousand times over \u2014\nif Jesus had not been their Saviour, their Shepherd, and their Shield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When they were wandering \u2014 He brought them back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When they were fallen \u2014 He raised them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When they were wounded \u2014 He healed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When they were fainting \u2014 He revived them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a word, some of the clearest proofs they have had of His\nexcellence, have been occasioned by the mortifying proofs they have had of\ntheir own vileness. They would not have known so much of Him \u2014 if they had not\nknown so much of themselves!<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are some of the advantages and good fruits which the Lord\nenables us to obtain from that bitter root, indwelling sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, the atrocity of the sin of a pardoned soul!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Charles Spurgeon)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “O Lord, we are covered with shame\u2014because we have sinned\nagainst You!” Daniel 9:8<\/p>\n\n\n\n A deep sense and clear sight of sin\u2014its heinousness and the\npunishment which it deserves\u2014should make us lie low before God’s throne. As\nChristians\u2014we have sinned! Alas! that it should be so. Favoured as we have\nbeen\u2014we have yet been ungrateful. Privileged beyond most\u2014we have not brought\nforth fruit in proportion. What Christian is there\u2014who will not blush when he\nlooks back upon his past sins?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for our days before we were regenerated, may they be forgiven\nand forgotten; but since then, though we have not sinned as before, yet we have\nsinned against light and against love\u2014spiritual light which has really\npenetrated our minds, and the love of Jesus which we have experienced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, the atrocity of the sin of a pardoned soul! An unpardoned\nsinner sins cheaply\u2014when compared with the sin of one of God’s redeemed ones,\nwho has had communion with Christ and leaned his head upon Jesus’ bosom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at David! Many will talk of his sin\u2014but I beg you to look\nat his repentance, and hear his broken bones, as each one of them moans out its\ndolorous confession! Mark his tears, as they fall upon the ground, and the deep\nsighs with which he accompanies the softened music of his harp! We have\nerred\u2014let us, therefore, seek the spirit of penitence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look, again, at Peter! We speak much of Peter’s denying his\nMaster. But remember that it is written, “He wept bitterly!” Have we\nno denials of our Lord to be lamented with tears?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alas! these sins of ours would consign us to the place of\ninextinguishable fire\u2014if it were not for God’s sovereign mercy which has made\nus to differ, snatching us like brands from the burning! My soul, bow down in\nhumility under a sense of your natural sinfulness, and worship your God. Admire\n. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n His grace which saves you;<\/p>\n\n\n\n His mercy which spares you;<\/p>\n\n\n\n His love which pardons you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n When believers, after a long experience of their own deceitful\nhearts, after repeated proofs of their weakness, wilfulness, ingratitude, and\nspiritual insensibility\u2014they find that none of these things can separate them\nfrom the love of God in Christ\u2014then Jesus becomes more and more precious to\ntheir souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John Newton<\/p>\n\n\n\n Away with that guilty atheism which dethrones God from the\nsovereign control over His own world!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (John MacDuff)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down\nfrom the Father of the heavenly lights” James 1:17<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us cherish the simple thought that all our blessings are\nfrom God. Everything we have emanates from Him, and wears the impress of His\nlove \u2014 from the humblest crumb of providential bounty, to the richest blessing\nof His grace in Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How apt we are to live and act as if it were otherwise \u2014 to\nspeak of . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n my health,<\/p>\n\n\n\n my strength,<\/p>\n\n\n\n my riches,<\/p>\n\n\n\n my household treasures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How prone are we to live independent of Him, forgetful of the\nDivine Hand which fills our cup, and interweaves our life with happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever our prized possession may be \u2014 it is His giving. It was\nHe who planted. It is He who waters every moment \u2014 who nurtures and fosters\ndelicate stem and leaf and bud and fruit, lest anything may hurt it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Away with that guilty atheism which dethrones God from the\nsovereign control over His own world \u2014 which speaks of chance, good luck, good\nfortune, happy coincidences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather, strive to inscribe above every loan given to you by the\nGreat Proprietor, “This also comes from the Lord Almighty!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We love Him\u2014because He first loved us!” 1 John 4:19<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Author unknown<\/p>\n\n\n\n With grateful joy we trace the stream to its source. Our love to\nGod\u2014springs from God’s love to us. He pitied us in our rebellion and\nalienation\u2014He had compassion on us when we were dead in trespasses and sins.\nYes, He so loved us, that He gave His only-begotten Son that we should not\nperish, but have everlasting life! And when, feeling our sinfulness and guilt,\nthe love of God was revealed to our hearts by the Holy Spirit\u2014then we began to\nlove Him in return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If God had withheld His love from us until we loved Him\u2014we would\nnever have loved Him at all, for “the carnal mind is enmity against\nGod.” We would, then, to the glory of His free grace, acknowledge that His\nlove to us\u2014has kindled our love to Him. We feel assured that as we more fully\napprehend His love to us\u2014the flame of our love to Him will burn more ardently.\nAlas! that we are so slow to learn the exceeding riches of the grace of our\nGod, in His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gospel fruit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (J. C. Philpot, “Meditations on 1 Peter”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or<\/p>\n\n\n\n make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a<\/p>\n\n\n\n tree is recognised by its fruit.” Matthew 12:33<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gospel fruit can only grow upon a gospel tree,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and thus the fruits of a holy and godly life must<\/p>\n\n\n\n spring out of the divine operations of the Holy<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spirit upon the heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The altar and the tent give us the two great features of Abraham’s character: a worshipper of God and a stranger in the world, having nothing on earth, having our all in God. Abraham had \u201cnot so much as to set his foot upon,\u201d but he had God to enjoy and that was enough. […]<\/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-6161","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\/6161","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=6161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6162,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6161\/revisions\/6162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}