Sure Possession!!

They are seated on the highest throne of joy, and revel in the sweetest sunshine of delight, who know that God is their sure possession. They who hold Him as their own by the hand of faith have greater riches than earth can give, and surer property than this world can amass. 

[Henry Law]

2 Samuel 22:36 ... Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.

Ecclesiastes 5:19 ... Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

Psalm 34:10 ... The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. ❤

Perfect Truth!!

The Bible is a vein of pure gold, unalloyed by quartz or any earthly substance. This is a star without a speck, a sun with a blot, a light without darkness, a moon without it's paleness, and a glory without a dimness. 

O Bible! It cannot be said of any other book that it is perfect and pure, but of the Bible we can declare that all wisdom is gathered up in it without a particle of folly. This is the judge that ends the strife where wit and reason fail. This is the Book untainted by any error, but is pure, unalloyed, perfect truth. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

2 Samuel 22:31 ... As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

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The Sins of The Saints

Bernard of Clairvaux once mentioned an old man who, upon hearing about any professing Christian who fell into sin, would say to himself: "He fell today; I may fall tomorrow!" The apostle Paul commended the same mindset when he wrote, "let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." (1 Corinthians 10:12) 

There is great wisdom in not trusting our own ability to stand. When I was a boy, my father would often say, "The person I trust least of all is myself." It should shock us to hear a professing Christian say, "I would never do that," or "How could anyone do that?" Consider the following: 

If Adam, an innocent man, could choose a piece of fruit over the infinitely valuable God (Genesis 3:6);  if Noah, the most righteous man of his day, could get so drunk that he passed out naked before his sons in his tent (Genesis 9:21);  if Abraham, the most faithful man of his day, could father a child with his wife's handmaiden (Genesis 16:1-4) and twice hand his wife over to other men (Genesis 12:11-15; 20:1-2);  if Sarah, the mother of promise, could laugh at the words of the God of promise and then lie to Him about doing so (Genesis 18:9-15);  if "righteous Lot" could greedily pick the most materialistic and sexually depraved place for himself and his family to live (Genesis 13:8-13), and could hand his daughters over to the sexually perverse men of the city (Genesis 19:4-8);  if Isaac, the son of promise, could show partiality to his oldest son because he liked his hunting skills (Genesis 25:28), and he, too, could hand his wife over to another man (Genesis 26:6-11); and if Jacob, the namesake of Israel, could swindle his brother for a birthright (Genesis 25:29-34), then so could I. 

If Moses, the meekest man on the planet, could act in such sinful anger and unbelief that God would not let him into the Promised Land (Numbers 20:7-12);  if his successor Joshua, could disobediently covenant with pagans (Joshua 9);  if Gideon, the mighty man of valor, could fall into idolatry at the end of his life (Judges 8:22-27); and if Samson, the strongest man who ever lived, could be defeated by wine and women (Judges 14-16), then so could I. if David, the man after God's own heart, could commit adultery and premeditate the murder of one of his mighty men (2 Samuel 11);  if Solomon, the wisest man, could foolishly allow his heart to be led astray by a thousand women to worship foreign gods (1 Kings 11);  if Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, could charge God with deceiving His people (Jeremiah 4:10); and if Elijah, a prophet of Israel, could self-righteously run from the mission of God (Jonah 1-3), then so could I. 

 If John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, could doubt the identity of the One to whom he bore witness (Matthew 11:2-3); and if the Apostle Peter could try to stop Jesus from going to the cross (Matthew 16:21-23), deny Jesus (Luke 22:54-61), argue with the Lord about the gospel and its implications (John 13:6-10; Acts 10:9-16), and support division in the church over the doctrine of justification by faith alone (Galatians 2:11-21), then so could I. 

If James and John could use Jesus to get to the top (Mark 10:35-37) and could want to call fire down from Heaven on those who did not believe the gospel (Luke 9:51-55); and if the Apostle John could twice fall down to worship angels (Revelation 19:9-10; Revelation 22:8-9), then so could I. 

We must resist the temptation of thinking that we can stand in our own strength. We must depend on the grace of the One who said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). The greatest believers are subject to great weaknesses. In no way do these truths give a license to sin; instead, they give a sober realization that by nature, "nothing good dwells in us." (Romans 7:18) 

We must distrust ourselves, bear with the weak, and hold fast to Christ. We must flee to our Great High Priest, who was tempted in all points as we are, yet never sinned. We must go to Him for grace and mercy to withstand temptations, and we must go to Him for grace and mercy if we fall.

[Nick Batzig]  

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1 Corinthians 15:10 ...  But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Psalm 119:117 ...  Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. ❤

A Perfect God...

There is no perfect life, no perfect job, no perfect childhood, no perfect marriage, no perfect set of people who will always do what we expect them to do.

What we have is a perfect God who is able to lead us through this imperfect life with unfailing strength incomparable wisdom and infinite love.

[Elisabeth Elliot]

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2 Samuel 22:31 ... As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

Psalm 139:10 ... Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

1 Peter 5:7 ...  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. ❤

 

Take These Three Spears

Do with your sin as Joab did with Absalom. He took three spears and thrust them through the heart of Absalom! (2 Samuel 18:14) Just so, take these three spears: the Word of God, prayer, and mortification and strike through the heart of your lusts, so that they die! 

What is the end of all a Christian's duties, praying, and hearing but to weaken and mortify lust! Why is this spiritual medicine taken but to kill the child of sin! Sin will insinuate itself and plead for a reprieve but show it no mercy! Saul's sparing Agag lost him the kingdom and your sparing sin will lose you the kingdom of Heaven. 

Do with your sin, what Samuel did to Agag, "He hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal." (1 Samuel 15:33)

[Thomas Watson]

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Comfort For a New Year!

We live in trying times. The new year opens, as no new year has opened to us of late. Our country is at war. Provisions are scant. The future, though concealed from our view, appears to be hung with clouds. It is probable that there will be great changes. Many fears will be awakened. Many hearts will be wounded. The faith of many of the Lord's people will be deeply tried. Satan will be busy. Our principles will be put to the test. 

But amidst all, we, as believers in Jesus, have one comfort, "The Lord lives!" There will be no change in him. His Word will remain true, his throne will be unshaken, and his purposes rest undisturbed. He will have his way in the whirlwind and storm and make a path for himself in the deep waters. 

Yes, Jehovah is immutably the same, and he is our God. Ours by covenant engagement. Ours by promise and by oath. Ours in Jesus, his beloved Son. He is the object of our hope and love. His bosom will be our resting-place, his arm our defense, and his providence our friend. 

Unspeakable privilege! Unparalleled mercy! Jehovah, in all his greatness and glory, in all his goodness and grace, is our God. And as our God he ever lives, ever reigns, and performs all things for us. 

[James Smith]

2 Samuel 22:47 ...  The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.

~ Happy New Year 2023 ~ 

This is The Finger of God

Look at the words which form the title of this article, and consider them well. They were spoken by heathen men more than three thousand years ago. They fell from the lips of Egyptian magicians when God sent one of the famous plagues on the land of Egypt. "Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh: This is the finger of God!" (Exodus 8:19.) 

It would be well if we all were as wise as these Egyptians!

From WHENCE does the cattle plague come?

I answer, unhesitatingly, that it comes from God! He who orders all things in Heaven and earth, He by whose wise providence everything is directed, and without whom nothing can happen.  He it is who has sent this scourge upon us! It is the finger of God!

I shall not spend time in proving this point. I refer anyone who asks for proof, to the whole tenor of God's Word. I ask him to mark how God is always spoken of as the governor and manager of all things, from the very least to the very greatest.

Who sent the flood on the world in the days of Noah? It was God! (Genesis 6:17)

Who sent the famine in the days of Joseph? It was God! (Genesis 41:25)

Who sent the plague on the livestock of Egypt in the reign of Pharaoh It was God! (Exodus 9:3)

Who sent disease on the Philistines when the ark was among them? It was God! (1 Samuel 5:7; 6:3-7)

Who sent the pestilence in the days of David? It was God! (2 Samuel 24:15)

Who sent the famine in the days of Elisha? It was God! (2 Kings 8:1)

Who sent the stormy wind and tempest in the days of Jonah? It was God! (Jonah 1:4)

I cannot understand how anyone can be called a believer of the Bible, who denies God's providence over His world. For my own part, I thoroughly believe that God has not changed. I believe that He is governing all things as much now, as He was in the Old Testament days. I believe that wars, famines, pestilences, and cattle plagues are all His instruments for carrying on the government of this world. And therefore when I see a scourge like the cattle plague, I have no doubt as to the hand that sends it. It is the finger of God!

Can anyone give a better account of the cattle plague? I believe that the only cause that we must come to as last is: This is the finger of God!

Does anyone regard my assertion as absurd and unreasonable? I have no doubt that many do so. Many, I suspect, think that God never interferes with the affairs of this world, and that pestilences and cattle plagues are only the result of certain natural laws which are always producing certain effects. I pity the man who thinks so.

Is he an atheist? Does he believe that this wonderfully designed world came together by chance, and had no Creator? If so, he is a very gullible person.

But if he does believe that God made the world where, I ask, is the absurdity of believing that God governs the world? If he allows that God framed the universe then why not allow that God manages it?

Away with this modern skepticism! It is offensive and revolting to common sense. They are not to be heard, who would shut out the Creator from His own creation. He who made the world at the beginning by the finger of creating wisdom will never cease to govern the world by the finger of His providence. This cattle plague is the finger of God!

[J. C. Ryle]

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See The Hand of God

All the injuries and unkind treatments we meet with from others, do not come to us by chance, but are ordained by the all-wise God for our good.   Many are like the foolish cur that snarls at the stick, never looking to the hand that swung it. If we looked higher than instruments, our hearts would grow meek and calm. Instruments can no more stir until God gives them a commission than the ax can cut by itself without a hand. David looked beyond Shimei's rage: "Let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him!" 2 Samuel 16:11

What wisdom for Christians to see the hand of God in all the barbarisms and incivilities of men! Job eyed God in his affliction, and that meekened his spirit: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised!" Job 1:21. He does not say, The Chaldeans have taken away but "The Lord has taken away."

Whoever brings an affliction, it is God who sends it.

[Thomas Watson]

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Ecclesiastes 7:14 … In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

Ruth 1:21 … I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

Job 2:10 ...But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

John 18:11 …  Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?❤

His Way

God does not make mistakes.

Deuteronomy 32:4 ... He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

2 Samuel 22:33 ... God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

Psalm 18:30 ... As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.❤

Is The Young Man Safe?

Young men are exposed to dangers, the greatest dangers. They are in danger of falling into sin, into infidelity, and into Hell!  Their danger arises from their corrupt passions--which are apt to be fierce and fiery; from their inexperience the path of life is new and strange to them; from false friends who feed their vanity, and gratify their lusts; from wicked associates which are often fascinating, and always injurious; from Satan the seducer who watches them, lays in wait for them, and seeks their destruction.

In a wicked world like this, with deceitful hearts like ours, and with such evil influences acting upon us, we are all in danger but the young especially, and young men most of all.  "Is the young man safe?"

Absalom was not safe, nor are many young men now. If they are mirthful, vain, or foolish; if they are selfish, conceited, or covetous; if they are careless, reckless, or indifferent, then they are not, they cannot be safe!

There is no real safety, but in vital union with Christ. Until a young man is convinced of sin, sensible of his danger, and embraces Christ, we cannot pronounce him safe.

The shipwrecked sailor is not safe until he is picked up by the life-boat, or otherwise conveyed on shore. Just so, the lost sinner is not safe as he is floating on the treacherous waters of this world, until the life-boat of free grace picks him up, and brings him to Christ as the harbor of safety!

[James Smith]

2 Samuel 18:29 ... And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.

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The Bible is...

The Bible is an armory of heavenly weapons, a pharmacy of infallible medicines,  a mine of exhaustless wealth, a guidebook for every road,  a chart for every sea, a medicine for every malady,  and a balm for every wound!   Rob us of our Bible, and our sky has lost its sun!"

[Thomas Guthrie]

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Psalm 119:97 ... O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

2 Samuel 22:31 ... As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

Acts 20:32 ... And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.❤

The Best Family Bible

In many houses you will see beautiful Bibles bound handsomely in morocco leather, with gilt edges, and full of bright pictures. I love to see a beautiful Bible in a home especially if it is not kept too clean and unsoiled. But the most beautiful form in which a household Bible can be bound, is in the holy life of godly parents. There is no tinted, gold-edged paper so fair as the pages God gives us on which to write our daily record.

The precepts and lessons of the inspired Word sound very sweetly, when read out of a richly-covered volume but they sound far more sweetly, when the child can spell them out of the parent's daily life.

It is well for a parent to read to his child from the inspired page, about the beauty of holiness; but it is better still when the child can see that beauty shining out transfigured in every feature of his parent's character.

It is well for him to read of the patience, gentleness, meekness, forbearance, and love of Christ; but it is better when he exemplifies all of these traits.

It is well for him to teach the child what the Bible says about lying, profanity, intemperance, and all sins; it is better when his life proclaims all these lessons.

No family Bible is so well printed and bound, as the one that is printed on the heart, and bound up in the life of a godly parent. I would recommend all parents to get this kind of Bible and to keep the dust off it always by constant use. This is the best kind for a lamp to the children's feet.

A beautiful Christian life is a living epistle written by the hand of God, which the youngest child can read before it has learned to spell out the shortest words of the language. It is a sermon that preaches Christ all day long seven days in the week.

There is no heresy so dangerous to childhood as heresies lived in the home!

[J. R. Miller]

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Psalm 119:105 ... Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.


2 Samuel 22:31 ... As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.


Proverbs 30:5 ... Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.❤

Give The Devil An Inch ...

Beware of such sins as the world calls little sins! They say: "What harm is there in an innocent lie?" Alas, what a contradiction this is! Can a lie be innocent? One says, "Oh, it is only a trick of youth!" Yes, but it is such a trick as may cost you going to Hell! Another "deceives his neighbor and says: I am only joking!" 

Yes, but he who sins in jest or makes a jest of sin may be damned in earnest! Consider that no sin against a great God, can be strictly a little sin though compared with a greater one, it may be. But however little it is to account it so, makes it greater.  The nature of the greater sin is in the least sin. A spark of fire, or a drop of poison have the nature of much more sin.  God has severely punished sins that have been looked upon as little sins, indeed, some of them well-meant sins as when Uzzah took hold of the Ark when the cart shook.  When men only looked into the Ark, it cost them dearly! "The LORD killed seventy men from Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark of the LORD!" Gathering a few sticks on the Sabbath was severely punished! 

These seem to be small matters but in sin, we must not consider so much what is forbidden as why it is forbidden, and who forbids it. Besides, a little sin makes way for a greater sin just as a little boy-thief entering a house, makes way for a man-thief to enter. It is hard to sin once and only once to commit one little sin and only one.  Give the devil and sin an inch and they will take a mile! Vain babbling increases to more ungodliness. A little leak in a ship, may by degrees fill it with water and sink it.

The Devil does not much care by what sins we go to Hell, whether small or great; whether by religious formality or open immorality. If a man makes no conscience of little sins, to which the temptations can be only little then how little conscience is he likely to make of great sins, to which there are greater temptations? If Judas betrays his Lord for thirty pieces of silver then what would he not do for more? Beware then of little sins!

[Ralph Venning]

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Proverbs 26:19 ... So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?

2 Samuel 6:6-7 ... And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.

1 Samuel 6:19 ... And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.

1 Peter 5:8 ... Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: ❤