Monday, October 31, 2011

Disgrace!



And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Ephesians 6:17

We read in Luke 22:35-38 that Christ prepared the apostles for approaching danger.
 
The Lord deals with his people in various manners.  Sometimes he causes all things to go smoothly—at other times he permits difficulties to arise.  When Jacob left his father's house, he was cheered on his way by a vision of angels, and he arrived safely at his uncle's abode; but when Joseph left his home, he was assaulted by his brethren and sold as a slave into Egypt.  The Lord knows when to appoint trials, and when to bestow prosperity.

Solomon knew this when he said, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven"—that is, to every purpose of God. He then enumerates various times, "a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to weep and a time to laugh" (Eccl. 3).  There were such various times in the lives of the apostles.  When their Master first sent them out to preach, he desired them to make no provision for the way.  He said, "Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor bag for your journey" (Matthew 10:9-10).  They obeyed this command, and at the last supper they testified that they had lacked nothing during their journey.  The disciples of Jesus can always testify that their Lord has kept his promises—not one of them has ever failed, or ever will.

On this occasion the Savior gave different directions to the apostles from those he had formerly given.  He desired them to take, not only bags and purses, but even swords.  Why did he give this command?  To prepare them for the great troubles that were coming upon them.  He knew that now few would be willing to give them food, and that many would desire to take away their lives; because their Master was soon to be crucified as a criminal.  Who would favor the followers of a crucified Master?  He reminded them of these words of Isaiah 53, "He was numbered with the transgressors."  One of the trials the Savior endured was DISGRACE.  He was put to death as a wicked man, with wicked men, and in the manner in which wicked men were put to death.  The disciples of such a master ought to expect disgrace.  They should not be surprised when they are insulted, reviled, and falsely accused.

But ought they to defend themselves with the sword?  We know they ought not.  When Peter took one of these two swords and cut off the ear of the high priest's servant, his Lord rebuked him, and said, "All those who take the sword shall perish with the sword."  If Jesus had intended that his servants should fight, he would not have said that two swords were enough.  The only sword that they should use is the sword that their Master wielded when attacked by the prince of darkness in the wilderness—the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Eph. 6:17).

When trials come upon us, let us use that sword.  Had Peter used it in that terrible night when his Lord was condemned, he would not have denied him.  We know not what great temptations may soon assail us.  God often makes the first part of a believer's course very smooth, because he knows his weakness, and will not try him above his strength.  But an evil day will come.  How shall we stand in that day?  Not by our own strength.  We must take unto us now the whole armor of God, the bosom-plate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.  When clothed in this armor, we must watch and pray, and then we shall be able to resist all the wiles of the devil. (Eph. 6:11).

~F. L. Mortimer



Tuesday, October 25, 2011

In Prayer


Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Colossians 4:2


O God Almighty, who has mercifully shielded us during another day, we desire, before we retire to rest, to commit ourselves, soul and body—to You in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.  Glory be to our God for all the blessings of the light; and now that the curtain of evening is again drawn around us—keep us beneath the shadow of Your wings. 

It is You, Lord, alone—who makes us to dwell in safety.  We acknowledge You as our daily Benefactor and Guardian.  Yours is the air we breathe, the food we eat, the raiment with which we are clothed.  But far above all Your other gifts, we bless You for Jesus, the Son of Your love. He is our only Savior.  We would exult anew, in the assurance, that His blood cleanses from all sin; and that He is able to save to the uttermost.  We rejoice to think that He is at this moment pleading in behalf of His people—the wonderful Counselor, the Prince who has power with God, and must at all times prevail. 

May we be clothed with His spirit, as well as with His righteousness.  Make us like Him, patient and meek, thankful and forgiving.  Take away all pride, vainglory, and hypocrisy—all absorbing love of the world.  Set our affections on things above; and enable us to pass through temporal things, so that finally we lose not the things that are eternal.  May we seek to be zealous in the performance of our relative duties.  Let us feel that whatever talents You have given us, are trusts to be laid out for Your glory, and to promote the well-being of those around us.   Whatever our hand finds to do, may we do it with our might. Visit Your church—the vineyard which Your own right hand has planted.

May grace, and mercy, and peace be upon the Israel of God.  Bless our own household;  may every heart within it be given unto You.  Let none of us leave for a dying hour, what may be best done, and it may be, only done—now.  May all our friends at a distance enjoy the friendship of an ever-present God. Guard them, guide them, provide for them.  May we walk together the same Zionward path; and at last have an abundant entrance ministered into that better land, where You shall rest in Your love, and rejoice over Your people with singing.  Hear us, for the sake of Your dear Son, our only Lord and Savior.


~John MacDuff, from "Family Prayers"





Thursday, October 20, 2011

God's Eternal Dwelling Place


This is my rest forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
Psalm 132:14

O Glorious Words!  It is God himself who here speaks.  Think of rest for God!  A Sabbath for the Eternal and a place of abiding for the Infinite!  He calls Zion "my rest."  Here His love remains and displays itself with delight.  "He shall rest in his love."  And this for ever!  He will not seek another place of repose, nor grow weary of His saints.  In Christ the heart of Deity is filled with content, and for His sake He is satisfied with His people, and will be so world without end. 

These august words declare a distinctive choice--this and no other; a certain choice--this which is well known to Me;  a present choice--this which is here at this moment.  God has made His election of old, He has not changed it, and He never will repent of it:  His church was His rest and is His rest still.  As He will not turn from His oath, so He will never turn from His choice.  Oh, that we may enter into His rest, may be part and parcel of His church, and yield by our loving faith a delight to the mind of Him who taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in them that hope in His mercy.

"Here will I dwell; for I have desired it."  Again are we filled with wonder that He who fills all things should dwell in Zion--should dwell in His church.  God does not unwillingly visit His chosen; He desires to dwell with them; He desires them.  He is already in Zion, for He speaks here, as one upon that spot.  Not only will he occasionally come to His church, but He will dwell in it, as His fixed abode.  He cared not for the magnificence of Solomon's temple, but He determined that at the mercy seat He would be found by suppliants, and that thence He would shine forth in brightness of grace among the favoured nation.

All this, however, was but a type of the spiritual house, of which Jesus is foundation and cornerstone, upon which all the living stones are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.  Oh, the sweetness of the thought that God desires to dwell in His people and rest among them!  Surely if it be His desire, He will cause it to be so.  If the desire of the righteous shall be granted, much more shall the desire of the Righteous God be accomplished. 

This is the joy of our souls, for surely we shall rest in God, and certainly our desire is to dwell in Him.  This also is the end of our fears for the Jerusalem of God; for if the Lord dwell in her, she shall not be moved.

~Charles H. Spurgeon




Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Little Flock


Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32

The music of the Shepherd's voice!  Another comforting "word," and how tender!  His flock, a little flock, a feeble flock, a fearful flock — but a beloved flock — loved of the Father, enjoying His good pleasure, and soon to be a glorified flock — safe in the fold, secure within the kingdom!  How does He quiet their fears and misgivings?  As they stand panting on the bleak mountainside, He points His crook upwards to the bright and shining gates of glory, and says, It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom!  What gentle words!   What a blessed consummation!  Gracious Savior, Your gentleness has made me great!

That kingdom is the believer's by irreversible and inalienable covenant right. Says Jesus in Luke 22:29, "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me." It is as sure as everlasting love and almighty power can make it.  Satan, the great foe of the kingdom, may have injected foul misgivings, doubts, and fears as to your security; but he could never divest you of your purchased immunities!  He must first have plucked the crown from the 'brow upon the throne', before he could weaken or impair this sure word of promise!  If "it pleased the Lord" to bruise the Shepherd — then it will surely please Him to glorify the purchased flock.

Believers, think of this! It is your Father's good pleasure.  The Good Shepherd, in leading you across the intervening mountains, shows you signals and memorials of paternal grace studding all the way.  He may lead you about in your way there. How did He lead the children of Israel of old out of Egypt to their promised kingdom? By forty years wilderness discipline and privations!  But trust Him; do not dishonor Him with guilty doubts and fears. Do not look back on your dark, stumbling paths, nor within on your fitful and vacillating heart; but forward to the promised heavenly kingdom!

Let the melody of the Shepherd's voice fall gently on your ear; "it is your Father's good pleasure."  I have given you, He seems to say, the best proof that it is My good pleasure. In order to purchase that kingdom, I died for you!  As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.  (Ezekiel 34:12) 

Fear not, then, little flock!  Though for a while you are in the bleak mountain and arid wasteland seeking your way Zionward,  it may be with torn fleeces and bleeding feet;  Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.  (Matthew 18:14)

~John MacDuff

Sunday, October 16, 2011

The Joyful Reunion


Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1 Thessalonians 4:14

Will it add nothing to the glory of that event, and to the happiness of that moment, when the Son of God descends, and, dissolving the soft  slumbers of the holy dead, will reanimate each with its former occupant, that then we shall perfectly recognize those we once knew and loved, and renew the sweet intercourse, before imperfect and limited, but now complete and eternal?

Dry then your tears, and cease to mourn, ye saints of God.  They are "not lost, but gone before."  Their spirits live with Jesus.  And when He comes, He will bring them with Him, and you shall see and know them with a cloudless sight and a perfect knowledge.  The very eyes which once smiled upon you so kindly, the very tongue which spoke to you so comfortingly, the very hands which administered to you so skillfully, the very feet which traveled by your side so faithfully, the very bosom which pillowed you so tenderly, you shall meet again.  "For the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:8), and those who "sleep in Jesus will God bring with him" (1 Thess. 4:14).  Let us "comfort one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:18).

And will it be no additional joy to meet and to know those eminent servants of the Lord whose histories are recorded to stimulate and instruct us, which cheered us, which shed light and gladness on our way:  Abraham, whose faith had animated us;  David, whose experimental psalms had comforted us;  Isaiah whose visions of Jesus gladdened us;  Paul, whose doctrinal epistles instructed us;  John, whose letters of love subdued us;  to gaze upon the Magdalene sitting at Jesus' feet, upon the "beggar" reposing in Abraham's bosom, and upon the "thief" with Christ in Paradise--Oh, will not this add to the happiness of heaven?  Will this be no joy, no bliss, no glory?  Assuredly, it will!  At Christ's coming, will not His ministers, too, and those to whom their labors had been useful, meet, know, and rejoice in each other?  The pastor and the flock, will there be no certain and permanent reunion--no sweet, and fond, and holy recognition?  Shall their union in the church below exceed, in its beauty and sweetness, their reunion in the church above?  Here it is necessarily mingled with much that is imperfect.

Much concealment is connected with their united labors in the vineyard of Christ.  They go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, and often are called to their rest before the fruit of their prayers, tears, and toil appears.  Here, too, seasons of sickness and of separation frequently transpire, shadowing the spirit with gloom, and wringing the heart with anguish.  And then, at last, death itself rudely breaks the tender bond, lays the standard-bearer low, leaving the affectionate flock to gaze with tears upon the lessening spirit of their loved one as it ascends and towers away to glory.  But the coming of Jesus, with all His saints, will restore this happy union, invest it with new and richer glory, and place it upon a permanent, yea, everlasting basis.  "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?  Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?  For ye are our glory and joy" (1 Thess. 2:19-20).  Yes, beloved, we shall know each other again, altered and glorified though we may be.

~Octavius Winslow  


Friday, October 14, 2011

The Sparkling Diamond in the Ring of Glory


Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
John 17:24


Christ can never rest satisfied until His gracious
communion with His people here, issues in their
perfect and glorious communion with Him in heaven.

Christ is very desirous of His people's fellowship and
company.  It is a part of Christ's joy—that they should
be where He is.  Christ will not be happy alone. As a
tender father, He can enjoy nothing if His children
may not have part with Him.  Even now—He is
always with them . . .

                to eye their behavior,
                to hear their prayers,
                to guide their way,
                to protect their persons,
                to cheer their spirits, and
                to delight with His presence.

The greatest part of our happiness, which we shall
have in heaven lies in this—that then we shall be
with Christ, and have immediate communion with
Him.   O sirs! the great end of our being in heaven,
is to behold and enjoy the glory of Christ!

Certainly the glory and happiness of heaven to the
elect, will consist much in being in Christ's company,
in whom they delight so much on earth.  To follow the
Lamb wherever He goes, to enjoy Him fully, and to be
always in His presence—is the heaven of heaven, the
glory of glory!  This is the sparkling diamond in
the ring of glory!

The day is coming wherein believers shall be completely
happy in a sight of Christ's glory.  When all veils have been
laid aside—they shall be fitted for a more full fruition, and
shall visibly and immediately behold and enjoy Him!

~Thomas Brooks, excerpt from "Paradise Opened"




~Choir of King's College Sings Psalm 148