Dead at the Top!
Men are like trees. The comparison holds in many regards; among others, will respect to growth. No tree starts tall, full-branched, fruit-covered - but is first only a seed, then a shoot, then a sapling, and finally a tree. It is ever growing into nobler and more beautiful proportions. Though ti lives three thousand years - every year has its own circle of growth. When it ceases to grow - then it ceases to live.
So men's bodies grow, beginning with the helplessness of infancy, and developing into strong and vigorous manhood.
So men's minds grow. All the germs of the mental faculties, of thought, and will, and feeling - are folded up in the infant. It is the work of a true education to draw out and train these faculties, which are capable of almost limitless expansion and development, and which will doubtless continue to grow in the future world.
Then there is still a higher life - the life of the soul. And no character is complete without its soul-growth. This is the part of our being on which the curse of the fall chiefly rests. The spiritual nature has been blasted by sin. Not until the new blood of redemption flows into the soul - is there life there. But provision has been made in grace, for the quickening of these dead branches. Every soul united by faith to Christ, lives. And wherever there is spiritual life - there is also spiritual growth.
But there are many men whose lower, physical natures are marked by a luxuriant growth - whose higher, spiritual nature is starved and left to die! I have seen trees which cast a wide shade. Their lower branches reached far out and were covered with leaves, and gave to the tree the appearance of great prosperity. But when I have looked up toward the top, I have seen only a bare, dead, branches, leafless trunk, rising above the greenness like the mast of a ship.
And that is a picture of many lives. In all that concerns the body or the mind - in all the lower branches of the life-tree - there is great prosperity. They are prosperous in the lower or worldly sphere. They put forth great boughs, and spread themselves out wide, and send their life-blood pulsing through great business establishments and enterprises, or through whole communities, or cities, or states, or nations. They have a marvelous growth and development - but it is all low down, close to the earth. They make a great show of prosperity before the world. Men come and rest in the shadow of their great spreading branches, and eat of the fruit of their toil and care.
But when you turn your eyes up to the higher parts of their being - you see nothing but bare branches, with no leaves nor fruit. They are like the tree, green and living below - but dead at the top, their souls stand out above all their earthly luxuriance, ghastly, bare, and dead!
Now it is well to develop one's physical nature, to draw out its powers to the utmost, and lay them on the altar for God. It is well to educate the mind, to train its power for the highest possible uses. Every one is responsible for the development and use of all the faculties God has lodged in his being.
But above both body and mind - is man's spiritual nature. It is the crown of manhood. It is the part of our being which is nearest to Heaven, which makes us akin to God, and which contains the germs of our future eternal growth toward bliss, or woe. It is on this part of the life-tree that faith, hope, love, meekness, humility, patience, and all the Christian graces grow. It is at the top, which the Master looks for fruit.
And what does it matter then, that a man has the most wondrous growth and development in the lower branches of his life - if he is dead at the top? What does it matter that body and mind are clothed in luxuriance - if the soul is starved and bare?
Men should look to their spiritual nature. They should seek, first of all - soul growth. No life is beautiful or complete in God's sight - which is leafless, fruitless, and dead or dying at the top. But the life that is crowned with foliage and fruitage here, shall be crowned with unfading glory in Heaven!
~J. R. Miller~
(The End)
Saturday, May 16, 2020
Saturday, May 9, 2020
No Mind Has Imagined!
No Mind Has Imagined!
Surely there is no believer but who finds that sometimes sin interrupts his joy, and sometimes satan distrubs his joy. Sometimes the cares of the world, and sometimes the snares of the world, and sometimes the fears of the world - mar his joy.
Here on earth, our joy is mixed with sorrow; our rejoicing with trembling. The most godly have sorrow, mixed with their joy; water, mixed with their wine; vinegar, mixed with their oil; pain, mixed with their ease; winter, mixed with their summer.
But in Heaven, they shall have joy, without sorrow; light, without darkness; sweetness, without bitterness; summer, without winter; health, without sickness; honor, without disgrace; glory, with shame, and life without death.
"In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).
Mark:
for quality - there are pleasures;
for quantity - fullness;
for dignity - at God's right hand;
for duration - forevermore.
And millions of years multiplied by millions, do not make up one minute of this eternity of joy which the saints shall have in Heaven! In Heaven there shall be no sin to take away your joy, not any devil to take away your joy, nor any man to take away your joy!
As they shall have in Heaven pure joy, so they shall have in Heaven fullness of joy. Here on earth all joy is at an ebb - but in Heaven is the flood of joy! Here shall be joy above joy, joy surmounting all joy. Here shall be such great joys - as no geometrician can measure; so many joys - as no arithmetician can number; and such wonderful joys - as no rhetorician can utter, had he the tongue of men and angels!
Sometimes great crosses, sometimes hard losses, and sometimes unexpected changes - turn a Christian's harping into mourning.
Here shall be joy within you, and joy without you, and joy above you, and joy beneath you, and joy about you. Joy shall spread itself over all the members of your bodies, and over all the faculties of your souls.
In Heaven, your knowledge shall be full, your love full, your visions of God full, your communion with God full, your enjoyment of God full, and your conformity to God full; and from thence will arise fullness of joy.
If all the earth were paper, and all the plants of the earth were pens, and all the sea were ink, and if every man, woman, and child, had the pen of a ready writer - yet they would not be able to express the thousandth part of those joys which saints shall have in Heaven!
All the joy which we have here in this world is but pensiveness - compared to that joy which we shall have in Heaven.
All the pleasure which we have in this world is but heaviness - compared to that joy which we shall have in Heaven.
All sweetness which we have here in this world is but bitterness - compared to that joy which we shall have in Heaven.
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
~Thomas Brooks~
(The End)
Surely there is no believer but who finds that sometimes sin interrupts his joy, and sometimes satan distrubs his joy. Sometimes the cares of the world, and sometimes the snares of the world, and sometimes the fears of the world - mar his joy.
Here on earth, our joy is mixed with sorrow; our rejoicing with trembling. The most godly have sorrow, mixed with their joy; water, mixed with their wine; vinegar, mixed with their oil; pain, mixed with their ease; winter, mixed with their summer.
But in Heaven, they shall have joy, without sorrow; light, without darkness; sweetness, without bitterness; summer, without winter; health, without sickness; honor, without disgrace; glory, with shame, and life without death.
"In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).
Mark:
for quality - there are pleasures;
for quantity - fullness;
for dignity - at God's right hand;
for duration - forevermore.
And millions of years multiplied by millions, do not make up one minute of this eternity of joy which the saints shall have in Heaven! In Heaven there shall be no sin to take away your joy, not any devil to take away your joy, nor any man to take away your joy!
As they shall have in Heaven pure joy, so they shall have in Heaven fullness of joy. Here on earth all joy is at an ebb - but in Heaven is the flood of joy! Here shall be joy above joy, joy surmounting all joy. Here shall be such great joys - as no geometrician can measure; so many joys - as no arithmetician can number; and such wonderful joys - as no rhetorician can utter, had he the tongue of men and angels!
Sometimes great crosses, sometimes hard losses, and sometimes unexpected changes - turn a Christian's harping into mourning.
Here shall be joy within you, and joy without you, and joy above you, and joy beneath you, and joy about you. Joy shall spread itself over all the members of your bodies, and over all the faculties of your souls.
In Heaven, your knowledge shall be full, your love full, your visions of God full, your communion with God full, your enjoyment of God full, and your conformity to God full; and from thence will arise fullness of joy.
If all the earth were paper, and all the plants of the earth were pens, and all the sea were ink, and if every man, woman, and child, had the pen of a ready writer - yet they would not be able to express the thousandth part of those joys which saints shall have in Heaven!
All the joy which we have here in this world is but pensiveness - compared to that joy which we shall have in Heaven.
All the pleasure which we have in this world is but heaviness - compared to that joy which we shall have in Heaven.
All sweetness which we have here in this world is but bitterness - compared to that joy which we shall have in Heaven.
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
~Thomas Brooks~
(The End)
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Love Put To The Proof
Love Put To The Proof
It is not every man's religion, which will stand the test. Many a man's profession has looked fair enough - until it has been tried, and then it has proved to be counterfeit. How important then is self-examination - and looking well to our foundation. Unless grounded on Christ - the fabric will fall. Unless our religion is the work of God - it will fail us in the day of trial. God's religion captures the heart for Him, devotes the life to Him, and prepares us to part with whatever is called for by Him.
Such was Abraham's religion, which God put to so severe a test; and to whom when he was tried, the angel said, "Now I know that you fear God - seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from Me!" (Genesis 22:12).
The principle. Godly fear. "You fear God."
In order to fear God, with a holy, filial fear - we must KNOW Him. Know Him as a gracious, merciful, covenant God. Know Him as revealed in Jesus. Know Him as a Father - the Father of mercies, the God of all grace.
We must BELIEVE Him. In order to which we must have His Word, especially His precious promises. Exercising faith in them - we shall have confidence in Him, and trust Him to make them good.
We must LOVE Him. Our love to Him will be regulated by our knowledge of Him, and our faith in Him. Just in proportion as we receive into our minds, the lovely representations of Himself which God has given in His Word, and by His Son, and according to the degree of faith we exercise in Him - will be our love to Him.
Love will lead us to FEAR Him, filling our hearts with profound reverence, and making us afraid to offend Him, or grieve Him, or disobey Him, or withhold anything from Him - and that, just because we love Him. The one ruling desire of our souls will be to PLEASE God!
The proof. "You have not withheld your son - your only son from Me." God requires proof of the sincerity of our profession, when we profess to prefer Him to all besides.
The testimony. "Now I know that you fear God - seeing that you have not withheld your son from Me." I have proved you now. You have manifested your sincerity.
God will try our principles! Sooner or later He will bring us to the test. Let us therefore seek grace to prepare us to stand the test as Abraham did. Let us therefore promptly do whatever appears to us to be the will of God. Let us imitate David, who said, "I made haste, and delayed not, to keep your precepts!"
Let us now turn the subject, and standing before Calvary's Cross, look up to God, and say, "Now I know that You love me - seeing You have not withheld Your son, Your only Son from me!"
Did Abraham sacrifice his own son, with his own hand, at least in intention? God did so in reality and in fact! It pleased the Lord to bruise Him! He has put Him to grief. It was His own sword, in His own hand - which pierced His beloved Son to His heart! Therefore Jesus cried, "Father, if it is possible - let this cup pass from Me!" O what love! O what a costly proof of God's love!
As God has not withheld from us His Son - but has sacrificed Him for our sins, and by His death made an atonement for our transgressions - can He then withhold from us any inferior good? Will He not with Him also - will He not after having given Jesus - freely give us all things. O Holy and ever blessed Spirit, impress this glorious truth upon my mind, and daily bring it to my remembrance - that my heavenly Father, having given His Son to die for me - will withhold no good thing from me! Well, well may I say - as I stand on Calvary, and gaze on the slaughtered Lamb, "Now I know that You love me - seeing You have not withheld Your Son, Your only Son from me!"
~James Smith~
(The End)
It is not every man's religion, which will stand the test. Many a man's profession has looked fair enough - until it has been tried, and then it has proved to be counterfeit. How important then is self-examination - and looking well to our foundation. Unless grounded on Christ - the fabric will fall. Unless our religion is the work of God - it will fail us in the day of trial. God's religion captures the heart for Him, devotes the life to Him, and prepares us to part with whatever is called for by Him.
Such was Abraham's religion, which God put to so severe a test; and to whom when he was tried, the angel said, "Now I know that you fear God - seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from Me!" (Genesis 22:12).
The principle. Godly fear. "You fear God."
In order to fear God, with a holy, filial fear - we must KNOW Him. Know Him as a gracious, merciful, covenant God. Know Him as revealed in Jesus. Know Him as a Father - the Father of mercies, the God of all grace.
We must BELIEVE Him. In order to which we must have His Word, especially His precious promises. Exercising faith in them - we shall have confidence in Him, and trust Him to make them good.
We must LOVE Him. Our love to Him will be regulated by our knowledge of Him, and our faith in Him. Just in proportion as we receive into our minds, the lovely representations of Himself which God has given in His Word, and by His Son, and according to the degree of faith we exercise in Him - will be our love to Him.
Love will lead us to FEAR Him, filling our hearts with profound reverence, and making us afraid to offend Him, or grieve Him, or disobey Him, or withhold anything from Him - and that, just because we love Him. The one ruling desire of our souls will be to PLEASE God!
The proof. "You have not withheld your son - your only son from Me." God requires proof of the sincerity of our profession, when we profess to prefer Him to all besides.
The testimony. "Now I know that you fear God - seeing that you have not withheld your son from Me." I have proved you now. You have manifested your sincerity.
God will try our principles! Sooner or later He will bring us to the test. Let us therefore seek grace to prepare us to stand the test as Abraham did. Let us therefore promptly do whatever appears to us to be the will of God. Let us imitate David, who said, "I made haste, and delayed not, to keep your precepts!"
Let us now turn the subject, and standing before Calvary's Cross, look up to God, and say, "Now I know that You love me - seeing You have not withheld Your son, Your only Son from me!"
Did Abraham sacrifice his own son, with his own hand, at least in intention? God did so in reality and in fact! It pleased the Lord to bruise Him! He has put Him to grief. It was His own sword, in His own hand - which pierced His beloved Son to His heart! Therefore Jesus cried, "Father, if it is possible - let this cup pass from Me!" O what love! O what a costly proof of God's love!
As God has not withheld from us His Son - but has sacrificed Him for our sins, and by His death made an atonement for our transgressions - can He then withhold from us any inferior good? Will He not with Him also - will He not after having given Jesus - freely give us all things. O Holy and ever blessed Spirit, impress this glorious truth upon my mind, and daily bring it to my remembrance - that my heavenly Father, having given His Son to die for me - will withhold no good thing from me! Well, well may I say - as I stand on Calvary, and gaze on the slaughtered Lamb, "Now I know that You love me - seeing You have not withheld Your Son, Your only Son from me!"
~James Smith~
(The End)
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Boast Not!
Boast Not!
The Christian life is a warfare. The believer has to contend for truth, for the honor of His Lord - yes, for his very spiritual life! He must fight all the way to Heaven. Young believers are apt to be self-confident. They think more highly of themselves, than they ought to think. To them may be applied the words of Ahab to Benhadiad, "One who puts on his armor - should not boast like one who takes it off!" (1 Kings 20:11). This appears to have been a proverb in Israel, and it is a very wise one. Christian, let us look at it, and consider.
Our Warfare. We are the soldiers of the Cross. We voluntarily enlisted into the army of the Saviour.
We are sworn to do battle with SIN - all sin. With sin within us - mortifying it, crucifying it, and seeking its death. With sin without us - endeavoring to conquer or escape from it. Our motto is, "No peace with sin!"
We are in deadly conflict with satan, and with all who are in league with him. We must conquer - or be conquered. We must overcome - or be overcome. To resist satan, to strive against sin - is our daily business! Another of our mottos is, "No compromise with satan!"
We have also to overcome the world. It is the enemy of God. It murdered our Saviour. It is still in determined opposition to Him. We must separate from it. Walk contrary to it. Be determined never to be ensnared or entangled by it. Another of our mottos is, "Not of the world!"
Here then is work for us. Enough to call forth all our courage, to employ all our skill, and to engage all our strength!
Let us look at our armor and weapons.
Truth, the truth of the gospel; and sincere attachment to the Saviour - is the belt that strengthens our loins.
Righteousness, right-heartedness in God's cause, and the perfect obedience of the Son of God placed to our account - defends the conscience and the heart.
The peace and pleasure which flows from the gospel, prepares us to walk in the roughest road - yes, to run in the way of God's commandments.
The hope of salvation protects the understanding, as the helmet defends the head.
With the shield of faith we catch and extinguish all the fiery darts of the devil.
With the sword of the Spirit, we cut down all that would oppose our progress, or cause us to fall.
And using all-prayer, we draw down supplies from above, so that we may not only conquer every foe - but be more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
The Caution. Boast not - young man, fresh recruit. In your new regimentals, and new armor; you may be tempted to do so - but remember the enemy is to be met, to be faced, to be overcome - before you will have cause for boasting. They know not the strength, the craft, or the cruelty of the foe - or they would be humble. satan may puff you up for there is great danger when we have a high opinion of ourselves and imagine that we can do wonders. Self-confidence and self-dependence are very dangerous. It is by faith in Jesus, by keeping close to Jesus - that we conquer. Great grace is the silent warrior: it fights but never boasts. It overcomes - but takes no credit to itself.
The Conquest. When the victory is won - we shall take off the armor. To the faithful soldier it is certain, for grace secures it. To the conqueror the prospect is delightful. But not until every foe is overcome. Our duty excludes boasting. The conqueror's armor will only be hung up in the hall of glory.
Reader, have you enlisted into the army of the Saviour? Have you put on the whole armor of God? The battle may be fierce - but with Jesus for your Captain, with His strength made perfect in your weakness, with His conqueroring banner floating over your head - every foe shall be slain or flee - and victory, eternal victory is sure!
Soon, very soon, the victorious army will return home in triumph! Soon, very soon, war shall cease, and peace shall be your portion, "and the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away!" (Isaiah 35:10).
~James Smith~
(The End)
The Christian life is a warfare. The believer has to contend for truth, for the honor of His Lord - yes, for his very spiritual life! He must fight all the way to Heaven. Young believers are apt to be self-confident. They think more highly of themselves, than they ought to think. To them may be applied the words of Ahab to Benhadiad, "One who puts on his armor - should not boast like one who takes it off!" (1 Kings 20:11). This appears to have been a proverb in Israel, and it is a very wise one. Christian, let us look at it, and consider.
Our Warfare. We are the soldiers of the Cross. We voluntarily enlisted into the army of the Saviour.
We are sworn to do battle with SIN - all sin. With sin within us - mortifying it, crucifying it, and seeking its death. With sin without us - endeavoring to conquer or escape from it. Our motto is, "No peace with sin!"
We are in deadly conflict with satan, and with all who are in league with him. We must conquer - or be conquered. We must overcome - or be overcome. To resist satan, to strive against sin - is our daily business! Another of our mottos is, "No compromise with satan!"
We have also to overcome the world. It is the enemy of God. It murdered our Saviour. It is still in determined opposition to Him. We must separate from it. Walk contrary to it. Be determined never to be ensnared or entangled by it. Another of our mottos is, "Not of the world!"
Here then is work for us. Enough to call forth all our courage, to employ all our skill, and to engage all our strength!
Let us look at our armor and weapons.
Truth, the truth of the gospel; and sincere attachment to the Saviour - is the belt that strengthens our loins.
Righteousness, right-heartedness in God's cause, and the perfect obedience of the Son of God placed to our account - defends the conscience and the heart.
The peace and pleasure which flows from the gospel, prepares us to walk in the roughest road - yes, to run in the way of God's commandments.
The hope of salvation protects the understanding, as the helmet defends the head.
With the shield of faith we catch and extinguish all the fiery darts of the devil.
With the sword of the Spirit, we cut down all that would oppose our progress, or cause us to fall.
And using all-prayer, we draw down supplies from above, so that we may not only conquer every foe - but be more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
The Caution. Boast not - young man, fresh recruit. In your new regimentals, and new armor; you may be tempted to do so - but remember the enemy is to be met, to be faced, to be overcome - before you will have cause for boasting. They know not the strength, the craft, or the cruelty of the foe - or they would be humble. satan may puff you up for there is great danger when we have a high opinion of ourselves and imagine that we can do wonders. Self-confidence and self-dependence are very dangerous. It is by faith in Jesus, by keeping close to Jesus - that we conquer. Great grace is the silent warrior: it fights but never boasts. It overcomes - but takes no credit to itself.
The Conquest. When the victory is won - we shall take off the armor. To the faithful soldier it is certain, for grace secures it. To the conqueror the prospect is delightful. But not until every foe is overcome. Our duty excludes boasting. The conqueror's armor will only be hung up in the hall of glory.
Reader, have you enlisted into the army of the Saviour? Have you put on the whole armor of God? The battle may be fierce - but with Jesus for your Captain, with His strength made perfect in your weakness, with His conqueroring banner floating over your head - every foe shall be slain or flee - and victory, eternal victory is sure!
Soon, very soon, the victorious army will return home in triumph! Soon, very soon, war shall cease, and peace shall be your portion, "and the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away!" (Isaiah 35:10).
~James Smith~
(The End)
Saturday, April 18, 2020
A Serious Inquiry # 2
A Serious Inquiry # 2
There is everything in man to offend the eyes of God's holiness, and to grieve His loving heart. Looking at man as fallen - polluted, and under the power of sin - we may well ask, "What is man, that You are mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:4).
What is man SPIRITUALLY? That is, man as renewed by the Holy Spirit, as united to Jesus, and as brought into fellowship with God. Man as a new creation. Man as in Christ. Ah! what is man then? It is like turning from a barren wilderness - to Eden, from an arid desert - to the garden of the Lord.
Renewed man is God's own CHILD. The child of His love. The child which He has adopted for His own. The child into which He has infused His own holy nature. The child on whom He confers His richest blessings, which He elevates to the highest honors. The child whom He constitutes His heir, and a joint-heir with His only begotten Son. The child to which He gives His Spirit, for which He prepares a city, and appoints a kingdom.
Man is God's CHOICE. When angels sinned - He cast them out of heaven, bound them in chains of darkness, and doomed them to appear before His Son for judgment. There was no mercy for them. Not one of all their vast number was chosen. They were left to reap the due desert of their deeds.
No so man. God saw that he would fall. He knew what he would become - and yet He chose out of fallen mankind, a number which no man can number to eternal life. "Lord, what is man, that You should choose him?" The only reply we can give is, "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight."
Man is chosen in Christ - chosen to holiness - chosen to everlasting life - chosen to the highest honors, and the sweetest joys. How wonderful is God's grace - and His ways are past finding out. What an overwhelming thought for a sinner to cherish in his bosom, "I am God's choice! God has chosen me to salvation! God has chosen me of His own mere grace! God has chosen me, who deserved and must have sunk to hell - if left to myself! God has chosen me to be His child, the object of His love, and to share in all the glories of His heavenly kingdom!
Man is God's COMPANION. He is to walk with God. He is called to have fellowship with God. He is directed to pour out his heart before God. He is to treat God with confidence, communicating everything to Him, asking everything of Him, and expecting every good thing from Him. God promises to visit him, to manifest Himself to him, and to dwell in him and walk in Him. What astonishing grace! And will God, the great, the glorious, the holy God - take poor, sinful, vile, wretched man for His choice, His child, His companion? He will! He has done it! He is daily doing it!
What will renewed man BE? This is a question no man can answer, for even the inspired Apostle John confesses his ignorance, "Beloved," says he, "now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be - but when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is!"
Renewed man will be like Jesus. Man will be with God. Man will see and hear and know, and possess, and enjoy - all he can possibly desire, all that his glorified nature is capable of. He will be more than unfallen Adam was, more than angels are, for he will be as nearly like God as perfected haman nature can be made like the Divine.
Let us then meditate devoutly upon this glorious subject, let us endeavor to realize our interest in it, and let us pray the Holy Spirit to unfold and apply it to our souls - until filled with surprise, humility, and profound gratitude we exclaim with David, "Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him! man is like to vanity, his days are as a shadow that passes away."
~James Smith~
(The End)
There is everything in man to offend the eyes of God's holiness, and to grieve His loving heart. Looking at man as fallen - polluted, and under the power of sin - we may well ask, "What is man, that You are mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:4).
What is man SPIRITUALLY? That is, man as renewed by the Holy Spirit, as united to Jesus, and as brought into fellowship with God. Man as a new creation. Man as in Christ. Ah! what is man then? It is like turning from a barren wilderness - to Eden, from an arid desert - to the garden of the Lord.
Renewed man is God's own CHILD. The child of His love. The child which He has adopted for His own. The child into which He has infused His own holy nature. The child on whom He confers His richest blessings, which He elevates to the highest honors. The child whom He constitutes His heir, and a joint-heir with His only begotten Son. The child to which He gives His Spirit, for which He prepares a city, and appoints a kingdom.
Man is God's CHOICE. When angels sinned - He cast them out of heaven, bound them in chains of darkness, and doomed them to appear before His Son for judgment. There was no mercy for them. Not one of all their vast number was chosen. They were left to reap the due desert of their deeds.
No so man. God saw that he would fall. He knew what he would become - and yet He chose out of fallen mankind, a number which no man can number to eternal life. "Lord, what is man, that You should choose him?" The only reply we can give is, "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight."
Man is chosen in Christ - chosen to holiness - chosen to everlasting life - chosen to the highest honors, and the sweetest joys. How wonderful is God's grace - and His ways are past finding out. What an overwhelming thought for a sinner to cherish in his bosom, "I am God's choice! God has chosen me to salvation! God has chosen me of His own mere grace! God has chosen me, who deserved and must have sunk to hell - if left to myself! God has chosen me to be His child, the object of His love, and to share in all the glories of His heavenly kingdom!
Man is God's COMPANION. He is to walk with God. He is called to have fellowship with God. He is directed to pour out his heart before God. He is to treat God with confidence, communicating everything to Him, asking everything of Him, and expecting every good thing from Him. God promises to visit him, to manifest Himself to him, and to dwell in him and walk in Him. What astonishing grace! And will God, the great, the glorious, the holy God - take poor, sinful, vile, wretched man for His choice, His child, His companion? He will! He has done it! He is daily doing it!
What will renewed man BE? This is a question no man can answer, for even the inspired Apostle John confesses his ignorance, "Beloved," says he, "now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be - but when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is!"
Renewed man will be like Jesus. Man will be with God. Man will see and hear and know, and possess, and enjoy - all he can possibly desire, all that his glorified nature is capable of. He will be more than unfallen Adam was, more than angels are, for he will be as nearly like God as perfected haman nature can be made like the Divine.
Let us then meditate devoutly upon this glorious subject, let us endeavor to realize our interest in it, and let us pray the Holy Spirit to unfold and apply it to our souls - until filled with surprise, humility, and profound gratitude we exclaim with David, "Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him! man is like to vanity, his days are as a shadow that passes away."
~James Smith~
(The End)
Saturday, April 11, 2020
A Serious Inquiry # 1
A Serious Inquiry # 1
"Lord, what is man that you should notice us, mere mortal that you should care for us?" (Psalm 144:3).
"Lord, what is man!" Thus the psalmist exclaimed, when reviewing the Lord's goodness to him, and recounting the gracious characters in which the Lord stood to him. Great trials and brought him great mercies. Great difficulties had given him a great experience of the Lord's goodness. He rejoices in God as his strength and instructor, the source of his mercy, his fortress, his high tower and his deliverer, his shield and the object of his trust. God had been to him - all that his circumstances required, so that notwithstanding his many fears and numerous foes - he had persevered and prevailed. Looking back upon the past - he felt constrained to look up, and looking up he was led to contrast God's goodness to him - with his own insignificance and unworthiness, and almost involuntarily cried out, "Lord, what is man!"
It is the language of surprise! He was struck with wonder and amazement at the conduct of his God, and full of admiration, he gives vent to his overpowering feelings in this brief exclamation.
It is the language of humility! He felt crushed under a sense of God's amazing kindness to one so sinful, to one so vile; the sense of God's undeserved grace laid him very low; and from the dust of self-abasement, he expressed his wonder at the Divine dealings with him.
It is the language of gratitude! His heart was full, it was overflowing with grateful praise. Surprised, humble, and grateful - he was prepared to glorify his good and gracious God. And this will be the case with us, when we take a retrospect of the past from the right point; when we look at ourselves - and then at our God; at our righteous deserts - and His merciful dealings. We will now briefly look at the question with a view to our own edification.
What is man PHYSICALLY? He is fearful and wonderfully made. He is the chief of the works of God. What a wonderful structure is the body! What wisdom is displayed in devising, arranging, and adapting the different parts - to form the one simple, yet complicated machine! The bones, the muscles, the blood vessels, the nerves, the brain, the flesh, the skin; the different organs of sight, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling. What a beautiful and yet suitable dwelling theyform for the immortal soul.
Yet when we think of what man is, and then of what man was - how great the contrast. When we look at man in youth, in health, and in full vigor - and then at what man is when aged, or diseased, or dead; we cannot but feel ready to exclaim, "What is man!"
But when we direct our thoughts to God - to His greatness, glory, holiness, and immutability - we feel a still stronger impulse inducing us to cry, "What is man?" Man so little, so sinful, so sickly, so changeable, so transitory! "What is man - that You should magnify him? and that you should set your heart upon him? That you should visit him every morning, and try him every moment?"
What is man MORALLY? This is the worst part of the picture! It is bad enough to see man diseased, suffering, dying, moldering to dust; but when we come to inquire into the cause of all this - it is fearful indeed!
Man is dreadfully depraved. He has fallen from the state in which his good and glorious Creator placed him. He is now totally depraved. He is God's enemy, His heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. His carnal mind is enmity against God. He is full of evil principles and evil passions. He has become, not only unprofitable - but abominable! No part of God's creation presents such a hideous sight to His pure and holy eyes - as man does, for in him heart and mind are alike depraved, and set in opposition to Himself.
Man is wicked - but he is not only wicked, he is weak. Sin has become a fearful disease within him. He has no will to do good. He has no power to do good - if he had the will. Hence the apostle when partially renewed, speaking of himself, said, "To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not."
Man is perverse, he closes his eyes, his ears, and his heart against God! It is only for God to require something - and man determines not to do it; or for God to prohibit something - and man immediately desires it. His will is as much opposed to God as it can be. He slights His mercy, dares His justice, and defies His power. He perseveres in sin, unless the Lord by His invincible grace prevents him. He has sunk lower than the beasts which perish, hence the Lord complains, "The ox know his owner, and the donkey his master's crib - but Israel does not know, My people do not consider!"
~James Smith~
(continued with # 2)
"Lord, what is man that you should notice us, mere mortal that you should care for us?" (Psalm 144:3).
"Lord, what is man!" Thus the psalmist exclaimed, when reviewing the Lord's goodness to him, and recounting the gracious characters in which the Lord stood to him. Great trials and brought him great mercies. Great difficulties had given him a great experience of the Lord's goodness. He rejoices in God as his strength and instructor, the source of his mercy, his fortress, his high tower and his deliverer, his shield and the object of his trust. God had been to him - all that his circumstances required, so that notwithstanding his many fears and numerous foes - he had persevered and prevailed. Looking back upon the past - he felt constrained to look up, and looking up he was led to contrast God's goodness to him - with his own insignificance and unworthiness, and almost involuntarily cried out, "Lord, what is man!"
It is the language of surprise! He was struck with wonder and amazement at the conduct of his God, and full of admiration, he gives vent to his overpowering feelings in this brief exclamation.
It is the language of humility! He felt crushed under a sense of God's amazing kindness to one so sinful, to one so vile; the sense of God's undeserved grace laid him very low; and from the dust of self-abasement, he expressed his wonder at the Divine dealings with him.
It is the language of gratitude! His heart was full, it was overflowing with grateful praise. Surprised, humble, and grateful - he was prepared to glorify his good and gracious God. And this will be the case with us, when we take a retrospect of the past from the right point; when we look at ourselves - and then at our God; at our righteous deserts - and His merciful dealings. We will now briefly look at the question with a view to our own edification.
What is man PHYSICALLY? He is fearful and wonderfully made. He is the chief of the works of God. What a wonderful structure is the body! What wisdom is displayed in devising, arranging, and adapting the different parts - to form the one simple, yet complicated machine! The bones, the muscles, the blood vessels, the nerves, the brain, the flesh, the skin; the different organs of sight, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling. What a beautiful and yet suitable dwelling theyform for the immortal soul.
Yet when we think of what man is, and then of what man was - how great the contrast. When we look at man in youth, in health, and in full vigor - and then at what man is when aged, or diseased, or dead; we cannot but feel ready to exclaim, "What is man!"
But when we direct our thoughts to God - to His greatness, glory, holiness, and immutability - we feel a still stronger impulse inducing us to cry, "What is man?" Man so little, so sinful, so sickly, so changeable, so transitory! "What is man - that You should magnify him? and that you should set your heart upon him? That you should visit him every morning, and try him every moment?"
What is man MORALLY? This is the worst part of the picture! It is bad enough to see man diseased, suffering, dying, moldering to dust; but when we come to inquire into the cause of all this - it is fearful indeed!
Man is dreadfully depraved. He has fallen from the state in which his good and glorious Creator placed him. He is now totally depraved. He is God's enemy, His heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. His carnal mind is enmity against God. He is full of evil principles and evil passions. He has become, not only unprofitable - but abominable! No part of God's creation presents such a hideous sight to His pure and holy eyes - as man does, for in him heart and mind are alike depraved, and set in opposition to Himself.
Man is wicked - but he is not only wicked, he is weak. Sin has become a fearful disease within him. He has no will to do good. He has no power to do good - if he had the will. Hence the apostle when partially renewed, speaking of himself, said, "To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not."
Man is perverse, he closes his eyes, his ears, and his heart against God! It is only for God to require something - and man determines not to do it; or for God to prohibit something - and man immediately desires it. His will is as much opposed to God as it can be. He slights His mercy, dares His justice, and defies His power. He perseveres in sin, unless the Lord by His invincible grace prevents him. He has sunk lower than the beasts which perish, hence the Lord complains, "The ox know his owner, and the donkey his master's crib - but Israel does not know, My people do not consider!"
~James Smith~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, April 4, 2020
A Seasonable Prescription
A Seasonable Prescription
As we Christians advance in life, and know more of human nature, and the power of temptation - the greater interest should we take in the young, and the more urgently should we seek their salvation. It is a lovely sight to see aged Christians endeavoring to bring young people to the Saviour. And this we ought constantly to see - for they know the power of youthful lusts, of the world's attractions, of satanic influence, of the deceitfulness of the heart, and the value of the immortal soul!
Aged friends, do you feel and act, as you should for the young? Do you do all that you can to snatch them as brands from the burning?
Solomon was an old man when he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, and in that book he manifests great solicitude for the young. Again and again he addresses them in different ways - but with what touching and subtle irony, does he speak to them in one place, "Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see. But KNOW that for all these things - God will bring you to judgment!" (Ecc. 11:9).
The Youth's Practice. He is happy in his youth - in his physical vigor, personal attractions, and newly acquired liberty. Feeling strong, he puts the day of judgment far from him. Vain of his person - he is proud of his appearance and abilities. Freed from the restraints of home - he removes the reins from the neck of his lusts. His heart cheers him on - and urges him forward in the pursuit of folly! He walks in the way of his heart - which is always evil. He is ignorant of its powers of deception. He is therefore deceived by the corrupt principles that work within it. He hushes his conscience to sleep, or by violence constrains it to be silent.
He then yields to the alluring influence of the world. And while so doing, satan tempts him to proceed farther and farther - plotting his eternal damnation!
He does what he thinks best in his own eyes - allowing them to mislead him. He walks by sight - not according to God's Word. He is led away by appearances, and despises the councel and example of the godly. He refuses to listen to, or be guided by the advice of parents. He despises, or slights, the preacher's admonition, and will be a law unto himself. He chooses vain people for his companions, and follows the example of the foolish! Let us now listen to,
The Preacher's Prescription. "Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see. But KNOW that for all these things - God will bring you to judgment!"
Take your own course - if you are determined. Go on the way which you prefer - if you think it best. Persevere in the path that you have chosen. but KNOW that there is an end to your course - and that end is a judgment! The judgment day is fixed - and it is therefore certain. The Judge stands at the door - it is therefore near. The dead, small and great, shall stand before God - it is therefore universal.
Every one of us shall give account of himself before God - it is therefore personal.
Before this final judgment, shall be gathered all nations - it will therefore be open and public. God will judge in justice and uprightness - it will therefore be final.
"But KNOW that for all these things - God will bring you to judgment!"
You will not be able to escape! You will not be overlooked or forgotten! You will be personally summoned - and there will be no evading!
Young man! Young woman! To you is this word of solemn admonition sent! See how many young people are being called away by death! Accidents! - how common. It is very probable that God may soon call for YOU! How necessary then that you be
ready, for death often gives but a short notice - or no notice!
God warns you by His providence; He directs you in His Word; He invites you by His ministers; and He will judge you by His Son!
Whenever therefore you are tempted to indulge in any unholy amusement or practice, remember these words: "But KNOW that for all these things - God will bring you to judgment!"
~James Smith~
(The End)
As we Christians advance in life, and know more of human nature, and the power of temptation - the greater interest should we take in the young, and the more urgently should we seek their salvation. It is a lovely sight to see aged Christians endeavoring to bring young people to the Saviour. And this we ought constantly to see - for they know the power of youthful lusts, of the world's attractions, of satanic influence, of the deceitfulness of the heart, and the value of the immortal soul!
Aged friends, do you feel and act, as you should for the young? Do you do all that you can to snatch them as brands from the burning?
Solomon was an old man when he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, and in that book he manifests great solicitude for the young. Again and again he addresses them in different ways - but with what touching and subtle irony, does he speak to them in one place, "Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see. But KNOW that for all these things - God will bring you to judgment!" (Ecc. 11:9).
The Youth's Practice. He is happy in his youth - in his physical vigor, personal attractions, and newly acquired liberty. Feeling strong, he puts the day of judgment far from him. Vain of his person - he is proud of his appearance and abilities. Freed from the restraints of home - he removes the reins from the neck of his lusts. His heart cheers him on - and urges him forward in the pursuit of folly! He walks in the way of his heart - which is always evil. He is ignorant of its powers of deception. He is therefore deceived by the corrupt principles that work within it. He hushes his conscience to sleep, or by violence constrains it to be silent.
He then yields to the alluring influence of the world. And while so doing, satan tempts him to proceed farther and farther - plotting his eternal damnation!
He does what he thinks best in his own eyes - allowing them to mislead him. He walks by sight - not according to God's Word. He is led away by appearances, and despises the councel and example of the godly. He refuses to listen to, or be guided by the advice of parents. He despises, or slights, the preacher's admonition, and will be a law unto himself. He chooses vain people for his companions, and follows the example of the foolish! Let us now listen to,
The Preacher's Prescription. "Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see. But KNOW that for all these things - God will bring you to judgment!"
Take your own course - if you are determined. Go on the way which you prefer - if you think it best. Persevere in the path that you have chosen. but KNOW that there is an end to your course - and that end is a judgment! The judgment day is fixed - and it is therefore certain. The Judge stands at the door - it is therefore near. The dead, small and great, shall stand before God - it is therefore universal.
Every one of us shall give account of himself before God - it is therefore personal.
Before this final judgment, shall be gathered all nations - it will therefore be open and public. God will judge in justice and uprightness - it will therefore be final.
"But KNOW that for all these things - God will bring you to judgment!"
You will not be able to escape! You will not be overlooked or forgotten! You will be personally summoned - and there will be no evading!
Young man! Young woman! To you is this word of solemn admonition sent! See how many young people are being called away by death! Accidents! - how common. It is very probable that God may soon call for YOU! How necessary then that you be
ready, for death often gives but a short notice - or no notice!
God warns you by His providence; He directs you in His Word; He invites you by His ministers; and He will judge you by His Son!
Whenever therefore you are tempted to indulge in any unholy amusement or practice, remember these words: "But KNOW that for all these things - God will bring you to judgment!"
~James Smith~
(The End)
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