The Murderer # 6 (and others)

The Murderer # 6 (and others)

Samson, when endued with strength from above, could with ease cast off every fetter with which his enemies could bind him. Just so, the soul leaning on the strength of Jesus can obtain more and more a blessed freedom from every bond of sin. Be assured also that the Saviour can deliver you from the most subtle form of evil. He can entwine those delicate tendrils that may seem to the unthinking so harmless, and yet prove at length so deadly.

He can deliver you from that mistaken view of God's character which keeps you from joyful access to the mercy-seat. He can deliver you from that pride of intellect which hinders you from receiving the kingdom of God as a little child; from that undiscovered reliance upon self which prevents your entire dependence on the Saviour; from that secret idolatry which hides from you the loving smile of your Father in Heaven; from that slightness in sacred duties, and that unspiritual tone of mind which bar any advance in divine life.

From all these hidden evils Jesus can save. He has access to every inner chamber of the heart. He can reveal and uproot all that is injurious there. He can implant there, all that is pleasing in His sight.

He bursts the chain of all those evils which sin has introduced. Numberless are the sorrows and distresses which come to us in the train of sin.

Pain, and suffering, and weakness oppress the body; cares, and anxieties, and disappointments weigh upon the spirit; temptations, doubts, and fears harass the soul; death rifles our homes of their dearest treasures.

One by one must we also be subject to the dominion of the King of Terrors. In the bonds of the grave, must we be held until the Bridegroom comes. Then shall He again display His mighty arm. The last bond shall be broken. The ills of this present life shall have passed away. Death and the grave shall loose their captives. The glorious word of hope and promise shall be fulfilled. "O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?...thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Cor. 15:55-57).

Reader, let this thought abide with you. Sin is a strong and cruel tyrant - but Jesus Christ is a mighty and merciful deliverer. Prove for yourself His power and His grace. Let nothing keep you from His footstool. Tarry not, lest the day of salvation should be over. Plead with Him His own gracious promise, "Him that comes to Me, I will never cast out." Confess to Him all your unworthiness, all the evil that clings to you, and confidently rely upon His gracious help.

Let this be your daily prayer: "O mighty and merciful Saviour, forever set me free from the power and the guilt of sin - and bind me fast, hand and foot, with the fetters and cords of Your everlasting love!" Amen

~George Everard~

(The End)
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This pleasure-loving, pleasure-seeking, and pleasure-inventing age

A taste of worldly amusements will inevitably prove wherever it is indulged - a powerful obstacle to growth in grace.

Man is unquestionably made for enjoyment. He has a capacity for bliss - an instinctive appetite for gratification; and for this, God has made ample provision of a healthful and lawful kind. But "a taste for worldly pleasure" means that this God-given capacity is directed to wrong sources, or carried to an excess.

Now there are some amusements which in their very nature are so utterly incompatible with true godliness, that a liking for them, and a hankering after them, and especially an indulgence in them - cannot exist with real, earnest, and serious piety.

We would not doom to perdition, all who are at any time found in this round of worldly pleasure - but we unhesitatingly say, that a taste for them is entirely opposed to the whole spirit of Christianity! They are all included in that "world" which is overcome by faith and the new birth.

True religion is, though a happy, and a very serious thing - and can no more live and flourish in the uncongenial atmosphere of those parties, than could a young tender plant survive if brought into a frigid zone! 

A taste for even lawful worldly amusements, which leads its possessor to be fond of them, seeking them, and longing for them - shows a mind that is in a very doubtful state as to vital piety.

The way to win a worldly person to true religion is not to go and partake of his amusements; but to prove to him, that we are happier with our pleasures, than he is with his.

After all, it is freely admitted - that true religion is not hostile to anything which is not hostile to it; that many things which are not strictly pious, though not opposed to piety - may be lawfully enjoyed by the Christian; that what he has to do in this matter is not to practice total abstinence - but moderation. Yet the Christian should remember how elastic a term "moderation" is, and to be vigilant lest his moderation should continually increase its latitude, until it has swelled into the imperial tyranny of an appetite which acknowledges no authority - and submits to no restraint!

~John Angle James~

(The End)