Join every tongue to sing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mercies of the Lord:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The love of Christ our King<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let every heart record:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He saved us from the wrath of God <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And paid our ransom with His blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What wondrous grace was this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We sinned, and Jesus died;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wrought the righteousness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And we are justified;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We ran the score to lengths extreme,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And all the debt was charged on Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hell was our just desert,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And He that hell endured;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Guilt broke His guiltless heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With wrath that we incurred;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We bruised His body, spilt His blood,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And both became our heavenly food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joseph Hart<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Wherefore hast Thou\nafflicted Thy servant?” Numbers 11:11<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our heavenly Father sends us\nfrequent troubles\u2014to test our faith<\/strong>. If our faith is worth\nanything, it will stand the test. Gilding is afraid of fire\u2014but gold is not.\nThe plastic gem dreads to be touched by the diamond\u2014but the true jewel fears no\ntest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a false faith\u2014which can\nonly trust God when friends are true, the body full of health, and the business\nprofitable. That alone is true faith\u2014which clings to the Lord when friends are\ngone, when the body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the light of our\nFather’s countenance is hidden. A faith which can say, in the direst trouble,\n“Though He slays me\u2014yet will I trust in Him,” is heaven-born faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord afflicts His\nservants\u2014to glorify Himself<\/strong>, for He is greatly glorified in the\ngraces of His people, which are His own handiwork. “We rejoice in our\nafflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance\nproduces proven character, and proven character produces hope!” The Lord\nis honoured by these growing virtues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We would never know the music\nof the harp\u2014if the strings were left untouched. We would never enjoy the juice\nof the grape\u2014if it were not trodden in the winepress. We would never discover\nthe sweet perfume of cinnamon\u2014if it were not pressed and beaten. We would never\nfeel the warmth of fire\u2014if the coals were not utterly consumed. The wisdom and\npower of the great Workman are revealed by the trials through which His vessels\nof mercy are permitted to pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Present afflictions tend also\nto heighten future joy<\/strong>. There must be dark shadows in the\npicture\u2014to bring out the beauty of the lights. Could we be so supremely blessed\nin heaven\u2014if we had not known the curse of sin and the sorrow of earth? Will\nnot peace <\/em>be sweeter\u2014after conflict? Will not rest <\/em>be\nmore welcome\u2014after toil? Will not the bliss <\/em>of the\nglorified\u2014be enhanced the recollection of past sufferings?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many other\ncomfortable answers to the question with which we opened our brief meditation,\nlet us muse upon it all day long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n C.H.Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been my experience that\nfocusing on whether or not I am saved always leads to confusion and doubt, but\nfocusing on whether Christ is the Saviour has always led to simplicity of\nthought and confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe Terrell <\/p>\n\n\n\n “He hath done all\nthings well.” Mark 7:37<\/strong> John Newton<\/p>\n\n\n\n “And I will deliver\nthee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of\nthe terrible.” Jeremiah 15:21<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Note the glorious person <\/em>of\nthe promise. I will, I will. <\/em>The Lord Jehovah Himself\ninterposes to deliver and redeem His people. He pledges Himself personally to\nrescue them. His own arm shall do it, that He may have the glory. Here is not a\nword said of any effort of our own which may be needed to assist the Lord.\nNeither our strength <\/em>nor our weakness <\/em>is\ntaken into the account\u2014but the lone “I”, like the sun in the heavens,\nshines out resplendent in all-sufficiency. Why then do we calculate our <\/em>forces,\nand consult with flesh and blood\u2014to our grievous wounding? Jehovah has power\nenough, without borrowing from our puny arm! Peace, you unbelieving thoughts!\nBe still, and know that the Lord reigns!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nor is there a hint\nconcerning secondary <\/em>means and causes. The Lord says nothing\nof friends and helpers\u2014He undertakes the work alone, and feels no need of human\narms to aid Him. Vain are all our lookings around to companions and relatives;\nthey are broken reeds <\/em>if we lean upon them. The are\noften unwilling <\/em>when able\u2014or unable <\/em>when they\nare willing. Since the promise comes alone from God, it would be well to wait\nonly upon Him; and when we do so, our expectation never fails us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who are the wicked <\/strong>that\nwe should fear them? The Lord will utterly consume them! They are to be pitied<\/em>,\nrather than feared! <\/em>As for cruel <\/strong>ones, they\nare only terrors to those who have no God to fly to\u2014for when the Lord is on our\nside, whom shall we fear? If we run into sin to please the wicked, we have\ncause to be alarmed\u2014but if we hold fast our integrity, the rage of tyrants\nshall be overruled for our good. When the fish swallowed Jonah, it found him to\nbe a morsel which he could not digest; and when the world devours the church,\nit is glad to be rid of it again. In all times of fiery trial, in patience let\nus possess our souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n C.H.Spurgeon<\/p>\n\n\n\n Salvation<\/strong> J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lessons From The Red\nSea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy faith they passed\nthrough the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were\ndrowned<\/em>.\u201d (Hebrews 11:29)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hebrews 11 shows us, by\nnumerous examples, what true, saving faith is. By contrast, it also shows us\nwhat faith is not. In this chapter, we see faith doing things that are\nimpossible with men, doing that which only God almighty, with whom nothing is\nimpossible, can do. You see, the power of faith, the strength of faith lies not\nin us but in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Object of all true faith. So\nwhen men and women do things believing God, it is not them, but Christ who is\ndoing the work: doing it through them, yes, but he is the One doing the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nblessed gift of faith, the work and operation of God in his people performs\ngreat works indeed. Faith in Christ enables weak, helpless sinners, sinners who\nbelieve God, to perform supernatural acts, overcome impossible difficulties,\nand endure trials that are impossible for flesh and blood to endure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nare told that. Israel passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, because they\nbelieved God. The Egyptians, attempting to do the same thing in the strength\nand energy of the flesh, were destroyed. It was faith that enabled Israel to\nenter a miraculously formed valley between two mountainous walls of water,\ncrossing over safely to the other side of the Red Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In\nmuch the same way, true, saving faith, faith in Christ, is that which enables\nbelievers to pass through and overcome trials and troubles that utterly destroy\nothers. As it was faith in Christ that enabled those men of old ultimately to\nenter into and take possession of Canaan, so it is faith in Christ that will\nsoon land us safe on Canaan\u2019s happy shore and enable us to take possession of\nheaven\u2019s eternal bliss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\nis no greater example of the contrast between faith and presumption in the\nwhole Book of God than that which is before us in Hebrews 11:29. Here we see\nthe ultimate end and result of the long controversy between the Egyptians and\nthe Israelites. This is clearly a type and picture of what will be the last end\nof the conflict between the world and the church. It has been a long and bitter\nconflict. It began with Cain and Abel and continues to this day. But it shall\nsoon end in the sudden appearance of Christ for the complete salvation of his\nchurch and the utter destruction of his enemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nexample of faith before us in Hebrews 11:29 is truly remarkable. It was night\nwhen the children of Israel undertook their flight out of Egypt. Through the\ndarkness they fled, moved by faith. Through the darkness Pharaoh and the huge\nEgyptian army presumptuously and blindly pursued them, moved by envy, hatred\nand lusts. At last, the hour arrived when the long-insulted forbearance of the\nAlmighty was to be avenged (Ex. 14:24-25).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nEgyptians cried, \u201cLet us flee from the face of Israel; for\nthe LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians<\/em>.\u201d But it was too\nlate. The Lord had begun to fight against them. Once the Lord God unsheathes\nhis sword of justice, he does not put it away until he has dipped it into the\nblood of his enemy! The proud monarch of Egypt and those who followed him\nlearned suddenly and everlastingly that it is a vain thing to be found fighting\nagainst God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\nwhich was the path of deliverance for the believing Israelites (the Red Sea)\nwas made the very gate of hell for the Egyptians. You see, every attempt of men\nto obtain in unbelief that which is obtained only by faith is doomed to\neverlasting disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh,\nmay God the Holy Spirit teach and convince you who believe not how vain it is\nto fight against God. Turn to him now. Sue for mercy, pleading the merits of\nChrist for your soul, lest he begins to fight against you this very hour!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey Passed Through\nThe Red Sea\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy faith they passed\nthrough the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were\ndrowned<\/em>.\u201d (Hebrews 11:29)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faith in Christ enabled\nMoses, Joshua, Caleb, Aaron, Miriam and the believing Israelites to obtain what\nthey could never have otherwise obtained. \u2013 Faith gave them strength to obey\nthe command of God and pass safely through the roaring Red Sea with complete\nsafety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Great Danger<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hebrews 11:29 takes us back\nto what is recorded in Exodus 14. There we are informed that shortly after\nPharaoh had consented to let Israel go, he hardened his heart again. His spies\ninformed him that the Israelites were trapped. So he went after them in fury,\ndetermined to destroy them. As the armies of Egypt drew near the children of\nIsrael began to murmur in unbelief (Ex. 14:10-12). They were hemmed in. They\nwere shut in with the wall of Egypt on one side, the wilderness on the other,\nthe Red Sea before them, and Pharaoh behind them. What did they do? They\nmurmured against God. They ate the Passover and God protected them from the\ndestroying angel. They walked out of Egypt with a high hand. Now, they trembled\nin unbelief. They looked to their own strength rather than the power of God,\nand their hearts failed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Forced Faith<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks be unto God, he will\nnot forsake his own! He will never leave his chosen to themselves. Rather than\nleave us in our unbelief, by the inner workings of his Spirit and his sovereign\narrangement of providence, the Lord our God graciously forces us to believe\nhim. (Sweet grace! Immaculate mercy!) The Lord brought Israel to such a\nhelpless and hopeless condition that they were constrained to trust him. What\ncould they do? Fight they dare not. Flee they could not. If the Lord had not\nshown himself strong on their behalf they would surely have perished. God\nbrought them to this place! He had promised to befor them. Now he\nwas teaching them to rest confidently in his Covenant. Let us be wise, and\nlearn from their mistake. Has he not promised us, \u201cWhen thou passest\nthrough the waters I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not\noverflow thee\u201d <\/em>(Isa. 43:2)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The soul that on Jesus hath\nleaned for repose,<\/p>\n\n\n\n I will not, I will not,\ndesert to its foes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That soul, though all hell\nshould endeavour to shake,<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll never, no never, no\nnever forsake!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter how deep the\nwaters, no matter how dark the storm, no matter how strong the oppressor may\nbe, God who cannot lie has said, \u201cThey shall not overflow thee!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who\ncan come out of the battle alive?<\/strong> J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Join every tongue to sing The mercies of the Lord: The love of Christ our King Let every heart record: He saved us from the wrath of God And paid our ransom with His blood. What wondrous grace was this! We sinned, and Jesus died; He wrought the righteousness, And we are justified; We ran […]<\/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-6997","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\/6997","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=6997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6998,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6997\/revisions\/6998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nEverything is necessary which God sends our way.
\nNothing can be necessary which He withholds.
\nHe does all things well. It is never ill with us\u2014but when our\nevil hearts doubt or forget this plainest of truths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\nAnd they were shouting with a mighty shout,
\n“Salvation<\/strong> to\nour God which sitteth upon the throne,
\nand unto the Lamb!” Revelation 7:10
\n
\nThe sweetest song that heaven ever proclaimed,
\nthe most blessed note that ever melted the soul,
\nis salvation<\/strong>.
\n
\n<\/strong>Saved FROM . . .<\/strong>
\n death and hell;
\n the worm which never dies;
\n the fire which is never quenched;
\n the sulphurous flames of the bottomless pit;
\n the companionship of tormenting fiends and
\n all the foul wretches under which earth has groaned;
\n blaspheming God in unutterable woe;
\n an eternity of misery without end or hope!
\n
\nSaved INTO . . .<\/strong>
\n heaven;
\n the sight of Jesus as He is;
\n perfect holiness and happiness;
\n the blissful company of holy angels and glorified\nsaints;
\nand all this during the countless ages of a blessed eternity!
\n
\nWhat tongue of men or angels can describe the
\nmillionth part of what is contained in the word
\nsalvation<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/strong>
\n“Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe!”<\/strong> Ps.\n119:117
\n
\nWe know little of ourselves, and less
\nof one another. We do not know . . .<\/strong>
\n our own needs,
\n what is for our good,
\n what snares to avoid,
\n what dangers to shun.
\n
\nOur path is . . .<\/strong>
\n bestrewed with difficulties,
\n beset with temptations,
\n surrounded with foes,
\n encompassed with perils.
\n
\nAt every step there is a snare!
\n
\nAt every turn an enemy lurks!
\n
\nPride digs the pit,
\ncarelessness blindfolds the eyes,
\ncarnality drugs and intoxicates the senses,
\nthe lust of the flesh seduces,
\nthe love of the world allures,
\nunbelief paralyses the fighting hand and the praying knee,
\nsin entangles the feet,
\nguilt defiles the conscience,
\nand Satan accuses the soul.
\n
\nUnder these circumstances, who\ncan come out of<\/strong>
\nthe battle alive?<\/strong> Only he who is\nkept by the mighty
\npower of God. “Hold Thou me up, and I shall be\nsafe!”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n