Father of The English Bible

How many Bibles do you have in your house? For most of us, Bibles are easily accessible, and many have several. That we have the Bible in English owes much to William Tyndale, sometimes called the Father of the English Bible. 90% of the King James Version of the Bible and 75% of the Revised Standard Version are from the translation of the Bible into English made by William Tyndale, yet Tyndale himself was burned at the stake for his work on this day, October 6, 1536. 

[Bible Study Tools - William Tyndale: Life and Death of the Father of the English Bible - Topical Studies]

Luke 6:22 ... Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.  ❤

My Real Name!!

 To Rev. John Newton,

Oh, what is man! How easily we spy the vanity and inconsistency in another, and how hardly we discern it in ourselves. The foulest stain, and worst absurdity in our nature, is pride! And yet this vile hedgehog so rolls himself up in his bristly coat, that we can seldom get a sight of his claws. Pride cleaves to us, like a shirt soaked in tar cleaves to the skin. No sharp ploughing and harrowing will clear the ground of it. This foul weed will be sure to spring up with the next rain!

Pride follows me like my shadow! This diabolical sin has brought more scourges on my back than everything else! It is of so insinuating a nature, that I know not how to rid myself of it. I hate it and love it. I quarrel with it and embrace it. I dread it and yet allow it to lie in my bosom. It pleads a right, through the fall, to be a tenant for life. It has such an amazing appetite that it can feed both on grace and garbage! It will be as warm and snug in a monastery, as a brothel and be as much delighted with a fine prayer, as a foul curse!

Lord, save me! If pride must dwell with me, let it not be a lordly master, but a loathed viper! Oh, that I could once say unto you, foul pride: "Farewell forever!"  There is no Christian grace, but pride will creep into its bosom and mix with it as freely as oil with oil. Nor is Lady Pride ever so delighted as when she becomes intimate with humility, and by soft caresses and kind speeches, encourages the sweet damsel to think highly of herself, even when she looks and talks humbly.

One moment she whispers and tells me that I am a fine fellow and then I am elated. By and by, she calls me a fool and then I am sullen. I can do no religious act, but pride is skulking at my elbow and much affecting me both by her smiles and frowns. This foul pride besieges my heart, besets all my steps, and meets me at every turn. Pride has more heads than a Hydra! (A mythological serpentine water monster which had many heads. Every time someone would cut off one of them, two more heads would grow out!) Pride has more shapes than Proteus! (A mythical Greek figure who could assume a different shape at will.)

It is such an odd mysterious evil that I can even be proud of loathing my pride. Henceforth if you ask my real name, it is Pride!

[John Berridge]

Proverbs 16:18 ... Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

✫❤•°*”˜˜”*°•❤✫...•°*”˜˜”*°•.❤✫...•°*”˜˜”*°•.❤✫

"The Beauty of Holiness"

Holiness is the antithesis of sin; and the beauty of holiness is in direct contrast from the ugliness of sin. Sin is a deformity, a monstrosity. Sin is repulsive, repellent to the infinitely pure God: that is why He selected leprosy, the most loathsome and horrible of all diseases, to be its emblem. When the Prophet was Divinely inspired to depict the condition of degenerate Israel, it was in these words, "From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." (Isaiah 1:6) 

O that sin was sickening and hateful to us: not merely its grosser forms but sin itself. At the opposite extreme from the hideousness of sin is "the beauty of holiness." Holiness is lovely in the sight of God: necessarily so. It is the reflection of His own nature, for He is "glorious in holiness" (Exodus 15:11) 

O that it may be increasingly attractive to, and earnestly sought after, by us! 

[J. C. Ryle]

Psalm 29:2 ... Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

✫❤•°*”˜˜”*°•❤✫...•°*”˜˜”*°•.❤✫...•°*”˜˜”*°•.❤✫

Beware of Splitting Upon This Rock!!

If Christ is truly precious to us, we shall be ready to deny ourselves for Him. "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." (Luke 9:23) 

Jesus Himself has been pleased to give us a safe and proper rule of judgment in this case: "If you love Me keep My commandments." (John 14:15) "He who has My commandments and keeps them he it is that loves Me." (John 14:21)

His Word and will have a prevailing, governing influence on the hearts and lives of those to whom He is precious. A steady desire and endeavor to avoid those things which are displeasing in His sight is a practical proof that He is dear to us. To deny ourselves is to give up our own supposed wisdom, that we may be entirely under the guidance of God; to resign our own wills that we may be subject to His will; and to yield our passions to His government. To deny ourselves is to forego everything sinful to which self is inclined; to practice every holy thing to which self is averse; and to be ready to give up everything dear to ourselves at the call of God as our ease, our friends, our goods, our health, or even our life. It is a disowning or renouncing ourselves for Christ; making us nothing that He may be all. 

This cannot be sincerely done unless Jesus is truly precious to us; or which is the same thing unless He is the object of our supreme affection. But if this is the case, we shall give up ourselves, with all that we have, to Him, without making any reserve. We shall, on a deliberate counting of the cost, choose the religion of Jesus, with all its difficulties just as Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin which are but for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. 

This is what our Lord means by the strong figurative expressions of plucking out the right eye and cutting off the right hand. That is parting with everything dear to us when it stands in competition with Him or is opposed to His service or His honor. For He justly reminds us, that "no man can serve two masters; either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other." (Matthew 6:24)

He constantly teaches us the necessity of preferring Him and His interest and service to the dearest objects on earth. "For he who loves father or mother, son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me." (Matthew 10:37-38)

When matters come to such a crisis that a man must either break with his nearest and dearest relations and friends or break with Christ he who prefers their favor and friendship to Christ's, and will not give up temporal endearments for His sake is not worthy to be owned as one of Christ's real disciples, nor can he partake of the spiritual and eternal blessings which belong to such. He who prefers his own ease and safety in this world to the truths and the service of Christ, cannot be justly deemed one who sincerely loves Him, or one to whom He is precious. 

The same lesson has taught us by the parable of the treasure hidden in a field, which, when a man has found it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. And likewise, by that of a merchantman, seeking fine pearls, who having found one pearl of great price he goes and parts with all, that he may possess that pearl. He is willing to give up the riches, the honors and pleasures of this world for the enjoyment of that inestimable treasure which he has discovered. Self-denial, in respect to things in themselves sinful, should be universal; otherwise, we do not give proper evidence of the sincerity of our love for Christ. 

Many go very far in a profession of religion and yet live in the habitual indulgence of some sin either great or small, secret or open. O reader, examine yourself, and beware of splitting upon this rock! Let us labor then, to mortify corrupt passions, inclinations and affections; and not willfully indulge ourselves in any sinful habit, custom, or practice!

[John Fawcett] 

1 Peter 2:7... Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

✫❤•°*”˜˜”*°•❤✫...•°*”˜˜”*°•.❤✫...•°*”˜˜”*°•.❤✫

The Important Event!!

The Christian should be prepared for everything that occurs. He is forewarned that he may be forearmed. Being in union with Christ, living in communion with God, resting upon the precious promises, and looking forward to the glorious prospects of the Church he should always be hopeful, if he cannot be happy. The Master's word to his disciples, when predicting the destruction of Jerusalem, the signs of his coming, and the end of the age, is applicable to him, "Therefore you also ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man will come!" 

THE IMPORTANT EVENT. The coming of the Son of Man. This is the great prospective event of the world. Jesus came once to put away our sins and he will come the second time to claim our persons and complete our salvation. 

He will come personally, even as he went up into Heaven. He will come gloriously, in unequaled grandeur and splendor. He will come suddenly, as a thief in the night. When least expected by the world, giving little or no warning, he will come and all his holy angels with him. He comes, or sends for us, by death, and calls us personally to appear before him, to enter into his glory, and he sometimes sends for his people suddenly, giving them little or no warning. Whether therefore he comes personally in his glory or sends for us by death he requires us to be ready. 

If the master of the house knew when the thief would come, he would watch and prepare for him and not allow him to rob him of his property. So, we knowing that the Lord will come, or death will come but not knowing when, we should watch, and wait, and be prepared for the event. Death will end all our opportunities, either to secure salvation, wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb, or do good to our fellowmen. 

How solemn is death! How glorious will the coming of the Son of Man be! O to be prepared, to be quite ready, either to depart and be with Christ, or to welcome the descent of our Lord in the air, when he comes with the clouds of Heaven, in power and great glory! 

[James Smith]

Matthew 24:44 ... Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. ❤

Letter on Spiritual Subjects

Dear Friend, 

Grace unto you and peace be multiplied.  

I hear you say, "I greatly want to know whether I am one of those who are born again." There are two ways whereby a soul comes to know that it is born again. The first is by the revelation of the Spirit bearing witness to the soul in some word or other where this truth is declared. The second is by His enabling the soul to discern its own acts in Divine light, and to draw conclusions from its discerned acts of grace that it has the principle; and in both these ways the Lord can give you satisfaction in an instant if it pleases Him. But, generally speaking, it is some time before a child of God can draw steady conclusions of its being new-born from its own feelings of the new life; and therefore, you may be new-born though you do not know it! 

A living infant, you know, when first born into the world has life, but it does not know it. It had a secret life from its first quickening in the womb, and from thence a secret motion; but as soon as it is born it begins to live visibly to others, but yet the child itself knows nothing of the matter. It cries, desires the breast, tastes the milk, and is satisfied, sees the light and feels the heat with pleasure, all of which are visible demonstrations of its life to bystanders, but the child knows nothing of it, because it is not capable of self-reflection. 

And thus it is with a newborn soul; there is a secret work of God upon all the heart, a principle of life given, and from thence some secret motions and faint stirrings now and then, under begun convictions, before it is brought forth into the visible life of grace, which discovers itself as soon as ever the soul is born again, in the breath or cry of the new creature, its desires, its discerning's, and its enjoyments, which, when communicated to grown Christians, they know such a soul is one of Christ's new-born babes, although this child itself is not yet capable so to reflect upon its own acts as to conclude its life from thence. And if this be your case, that you can not pass a judgment from what you have experienced that you have the life of grace, or are newborn, then tell me, as a rational creature, how it is with you, for as such you can tell what the feelings of the soul have been, although as a new creature you may not yet be come to such an exercise of your spiritual senses as to know those feelings to be feelings of grace, and a certain demonstration of your being born again. 

Well, a living child sees. What have you seen? Have you seen yourself to be a sinner by nature as well as by practice, in heart as well as life, and that you are utterly undone, and must perish forever without a saving interest in Jesus Christ, as being utterly unable to do anything to deliver yourself from the wrath to come? Have you seen your own righteousness to be but filthy rags, and your own strength to do any good but weakness? Again, have you seen as excellency in Christ, as a complete Savior, that is exceedingly suitable to your case as a lost sinner? And have you any discerning's of the glory of God's free grace and mercy in Christ? You have then the new creature's eye, discerning faith, even the faith of God's elect. And from these discerning's have you been made to cry unto the Lord, to lament your sinfulness before Him, and to supplicate His Throne for mercy, praying Him to give you Christ whatever He denies you of? You have then the new creature's breath, which flows from none but those that have the new creature's life. 

Again, what are your desires? Are the longings of your soul after the free grace and mercy of God in Christ, as held forth in the Promises, those breasts of consolation? You have then the new creature's appetite and are certainly born of the Word and Spirit of God. Once more, what are your enjoyments? What satisfies and pleases your soul best? Has the free grace of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ been sweet and savory to you in a promise or in an ordinance, to the refreshing and satisfying of your soul for some moments, just so long as you have had the breast in your mouth, the grace of the promise milked out to you? Then you have tasted that the Lord is gracious and are one of Christ's new-born babes. And have you ever felt any refreshing warmth and comfort in the love of God, which, like fire, has warmed and heated your cold soul? 

You have then that sensation which is proper to a new creature, and it is evident in these respects that you are certainly born again, and as such you shall see, that is, enjoy the kingdom of God as a kingdom of grace here, which is a kingdom of power, righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit; and you shall enter into the kingdom of glory hereafter, as being made fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light; for he who is your God has prepared for you a city, and wrought your soul for this self-same thing, there being never a soul in the world that is thus wrought upon but is a vessel of mercy prepared unto glory, by a saving work of the Holy Spirit upon it, as well as in the purpose of God concerning it. Go on, therefore, as a new-born babe, to desire the sincere milk of the Word the unmixed grace of the Gospel that you may grow thereby, for it is on purpose for you to maintain and increase the begun life of grace in your soul, until it is perfected in the life of glory. Rejoice, then, you lamb of Christ, for you are exceedingly safe under your kind Shepherd's care. He will gather you with His arm and carry you in His bosom; He will lead you into green pastures, beside the still waters, and make you to lie down safely. (Psalm 23:2)

[Anne Dutton]

✫❤•°*”˜˜”*°•❤✫...•°*”˜˜”*°•.❤✫...•°*”˜˜”*°•.❤✫

O What a Dwelling!!

Many profess the Christian religion, who are not really Christians! They are strangers to the new birth. They have never passed from death unto life. Their opinions perhaps are changed, but their hearts remain just as they were. Their lives may be moral, but their hearts are not spiritual. They are enemies to God, though they profess to be His friends! They are rebels against the government of Jesus, while they profess to be His loyal subjects. Commending the Savior with their lips, they withhold their heart from Him. In professing Christ, they cry, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" But by living in sin, they cry, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" They are not struggling with sin but sternly attached to sin! 

It is not weakness which causes their conduct, but inveterate wickedness! They are hypocrites, that is, they wear a mask! They pretend to be what they well know they are not. With their mouths they show much love to Christ, but their hearts go after their lusts! Reader, it is a dreadful thing to be a hypocrite; to be found among the Lord's people, while not really of them; to profess Christ, and not to possess Christ!

You may deceive men, but you cannot deceive God! You may be bold and fearless now, but when God shall unmask you and expose the nakedness of your soul, then you will be afraid; fearfulness and trembling will seize upon you suddenly! If you are indulging in any known sin, under a profession of religion then you are a 'sinner in Zion', and your state is most dangerous! 

[James Smith]

Isaiah 33:14 ... The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?  ❤

Your Enemy!!

Unconverted sinner! You are not only against God but God Himself is against you! As there is no friend like Him so there is no enemy like Him. As much as heaven is above the earth, omnipotence above impotence so much more terrible is it to fall into the hands of the living God, than into the paws of bears and lions yes, furies or devils!  God Himself will be your tormentor! Who or what shall deliver you out of His hands? 

Sinner, I think this would go like a dagger to your heart to know that God Himself is your enemy!  Oh, where will you go? Where will you shelter yourself? The infinite God is engaged against you! He hates all workers of iniquity. Man, does not your heart tremble to think of your being an object of God's hatred? "As surely as I live, when I sharpen My flashing sword and begin to carry out justice, I will bring vengeance on My enemies and repay those who hate Me!" (Deuteronomy 32:40-41) 

The power of God is mounted like a mighty cannon against you! Sinner, the power of God's anger is against you and power and anger together make fearful work. There is no escaping His hands no breaking loose from His prison. Submit to mercy. Let not dust and stubble battle against the Almighty.

[Joseph Alleine] 

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

Ezekiel 5:8 ... Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.

Isaiah 45:9 ... Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

Psalm 50:22 ... Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. ❤

"Fruit"

An unconverted state will bear fruit corresponding with its own essence. It must, in the nature of things, be so. The enmity against God of the carnal mind, the rejection of the Lord Jesus, the governing principle of SELF, the supreme ascendancy of the world, the slavery of sin; indicate, unmistakably, the unrenewed, unregenerate nature from which they spring. We do not expect one to yield the fruits of holiness from an unholy nature. 

The life that an unbeliever lives is in keeping with the unrenewed heart he possesses. He is of the earth, earthly. It is consistent with his unregenerate nature that he should be of the world, that he should love the world, that the world should love him and claim him as its own, that the things of the world its pursuits, its pleasures, its sins; should harmonize with his nature, charm his tastes, delight his senses, and bind his affections in their spell. 

[Octavius Winslow]

Matthew 7:16-18 ... Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ❤

The Task

O my reader, be not deceived on this vital matter: to mortify the lusts of the flesh, to be crucified unto the world, to overcome the Devil, to die daily unto sin, to live unto righteousness, to be meek and lowly in heart, trustful and obedient, pious and patient, faithful and uncompromising, loving and gentle; in a word, to be a Christian, to be Christlike is a task far, far beyond the poor resources of fallen human nature! 

The demands of Christ are too humbling to our natural pride, too searching for the callous conscience, too exacting for our fleshly desires. A miracle of grace has to be wrought within us before this awful depravity of our nature, this dreadful state of affairs, is changed! 

[A. W. Pink]

John 15:5 ...  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Philippians 4:13 ...  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. ❤

Are We Christians or Are We Worldlings?

What do we say to our self-indulgence, our spiritual sloth, our love of ease, our avoidance of hardship, our luxury, our pampering of the body, our costly feasts, our silken couches, our brilliant furniture, our gay attire, our expensive jewelry, our idle mirth, our voluptuous music, our jovial tables, loaded with every variety of rich viands? Are we Christians or are we worldlings? 

Where is the self-denial of the New Testament days? Where is the separation from a self-pleasing luxurious world? Where is the cross, the true badge of discipleship, to be seen except in useless religious ornaments for the body, or worse than useless decorations for the sanctuary? "Woe to those who are at ease in Zion!" Is not this the description of multitudes who name the name of Christ? They may not be "living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry." But even where these are absent, there is 'high living' luxury of the table or the wardrobe in conformity to this present evil world. "At ease in Zion!" 

Yes! there is the shrinking from hard service; from spending and being spent; from toil, and burden-bearing and conflict; from self-sacrifice and noble service; for the Master's sake. There is conformity to the world, instead of conformity to Christ! There is a laying down of the cross, instead of a taking up of the cross. Or there is a lining of the cross with velvet, lest it should gall our shoulders as we carry it! Or there is an adorning of the cross, that it may suite the taste and the manners of our refined and intellectual age. Anything but the bare, rugged and simple cross! 

We think that we can make the strait gate wider, and the narrow way broader so as to be able to walk more comfortably to the heavenly kingdom. We try to prove that modern enlightenment has so refined 'the world and its pleasures', that we may safely drink the poisoned cup, and give ourselves up to the inebriation of the siren song. "At ease in Zion!" Even when the walls of our city are besieged, and the citadel is being stormed! Instead of grasping our weapons, we lie down upon our couches! Instead of the armor, we put on the silken robe! 

We are cowards, when we should be brave! We are faint-hearted, when we should be bold! We are lukewarm, when we should be fervent! We are cold, when we should be full of zeal! We compromise and shuffle and make excuses when we should lift up our voice like a trumpet! We pare down truth, or palliate error, or extenuate sin in order to placate the world, or suit the spirit of the age, or 'unify' the Church. Learn self-denying Christianity. Not the form or name, but the living thing. 

Let us renounce the lazy, luxurious, self-pleasing, fashionable religion of the present day! A self-indulgent religion has nothing in common with the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ; or with that cross of ours which He has commanded us to take up and carry after Him renouncing ease and denying self. Our time, our abilities, our money, our strength, are all to be laid upon the altar. 

[Horatius Bonar] 

Amos 6:1 ... Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

✫❤•°*”˜˜”*°•❤✫...•°*”˜˜”*°•.❤✫...•°*”˜˜”*°•.❤✫