Simeon Quotes

If we had received our just deserving from God, there is not one among us who would not have been in the very depths of Hell, long, long ago! 

Believer! Not so much as a hair can fall from your head but by the divine appointment of your all-loving heavenly Father! 

The evil of sin far exceeds all that language can express, or that any finite intelligence can conceive! 

In everything we must endeavor to act as in God's immediate presence! 

Even though evil is a sweet morsel in your mouth for a season it will at last bite like a serpent, and sting like an adder! 

The ungodly often die as insensible of eternal realities as the beasts! 

The Word of God is the only standard of right and wrong; and by that we shall be judged in the last day. 

Every advance towards Christian maturity, will always be manifested by a proportionate growth in humility. 

No mother is so tender towards her newborn child, as God is towards his penitent and believing people. 

Can we survey the wonders of redeeming love, and not have our whole souls penetrated with an overwhelming sense of gratitude? 

We should always contemplate God's sovereign and saving mercies with overwhelming gratitude and whole-hearted devotion!  God is pleased oftentimes to afflict his people, in order to wean them from the love of this present world, and to quicken their souls to a greater delight in him. 

Godly principles in the heart always manifest themselves by actions in the life. Real piety is operative and influential on the whole life. 

The true Christian knows, that if he were judged by the best act he ever performed, he must forever perish! 

All that the blood of Christ could purchase, and all that the love of God can bestow is the portion reserved for every believer in the realms of bliss! 

[Charles Simeon]

 ✞ 🕊 ✞ 🕊 ✞ 🕊 ✞ 🕊 ✞ 🕊 ✞ 🕊 ✞ 🕊 ✞

Prayers Unanswered

God will grant us, in answer to our prayers, such blessings as He knows to be best for us. If He does not give us the exact thing we asked for, then He will give us that which on the whole is far better, and which we would have asked for, if we had known what was best for us, as He does. The time of God's answer may appear to our impatient minds, to be too long; but His answers shall not be protracted beyond the fittest season. 

If anyone is discouraged for lack of an answer to his prayers, let him remember that God may have answered them already, though unperceived, and in a way not contemplated by the suppliant himself. Paul, when praying for the removal of the thorn in his flesh, did not have it removed. 

Instead, his thorn was sanctified, and grace was given to him to improve it a right! "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me: My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness!" (2 Corinthians 12:8-9) Know then, whether you see it or not, that God both does, and will, answer your petitions. Only let our prayers be humble, and believing, and submissive and they shall never go forth in vain. 

The Lord Jesus gives us a perfect pattern for resignation in prayer, "Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine!" (Luke 22:42) 

[Charles Simeon] 

Matthew 7:7-8 ... Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

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

Nominal Christians ...

It is to be feared that the great mass of nominal Christians is nothing but unconverted worldlings! "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the father, but is from the world!" (1 John 2:15-16)  

The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life; that is, pleasure, and riches, and honor. These are the great objects of worldly ambition to which every godless heart is attached to! "If after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 2:20) The Apostle here takes for granted, that this effect will universally and invariably follow that all who know the adorable Savior will escape the pollutions of the world. There never was, nor ever will be, one exception to this truth. 

All who savingly know Christ, will no longer supremely love the world, but escape from its enticements and pollutions. Yet it is to be feared that there are many professing Christians who have never been delivered from the pollutions of the world. Their desires, and hopes, and joys, and pursuits are all worldly. Be assured that you cannot love the world, and God also; for they are diametrically opposed to each other. "You cannot serve God and Mammon." (Matthew 6:24)

Know that while you love and desire and pursue earthly vanities then you have not yet truly devoted yourselves to the Lord Jesus. Whatever your situation or circumstances may be, God's view of worldliness is the same: "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God! (James 4:4) "Remember Lot's wife!" (Luke 17:32)

Scripture paints the world, and all who love it, in darksome colors. O that all the votaries of gaiety, and fashion, and pleasure, would realize what Scripture compares them to: "Swine wallowing in the mire!" and "Dogs returning to their own vomit!" (Proverbs 26:11)  

Yes, this is the feast to which your earthly friends invite you! Learn to view the world as God views it! Regard it as a country infected with the plague! Let your great concern be to get through it in safety. 

[Charles Simeon]

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

2 Corinthians 6:17 ... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

Galatians 1:4 ... Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:  ❤

Why Unbelievers Hate God's Word!

The real reason why unbelievers hate God's Word, is because they will not part with those sins which His Word condemns! Nor will they practice those holy duties which the Word commands! If they were willing to renounce their sins, they would find the Word of God to be precious and delightful to them, as an inexhaustible ocean of encouragement! 

But unbelievers hate to hear of: the wickedness of their hearts, the insufficiency of their best works to bring them to God, the impossibility of being saved without an entire dependence on the sin-atoning merits of Christ, the necessity an unreserved surrender to His will as seen in Scripture. Their pride and self-sufficiency are insurmountable obstacles to the proper reception of Scriptural instruction. They hate to be told that they are spiritually wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked before a holy God! 

They abhor to walk in the path of the righteous. They simply will not forsake the path of sin, which infallibly leads to destruction! It is in vain that the Scripture shows them the only genuine way to Heaven. They will never forsake that broad road of sin which inevitably leads to damnation! 

Between God and the unbeliever who perishes in his sins, there is a great gulf fixed a gulf that never can be passed. Once entered into the eternal world, the unbeliever has his state fixed forever! The man who dies unbelieving and impenitent, will bewail his folly in irremediable and everlasting misery! 

[Charles Simeon] 

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

John 3:19-20 ... And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Isaiah 30:9-11 ...  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 ... And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: ❤

What a Mystery is This! How Utterly Incomprehensible!

It is true that we must be saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone! It is equally true that faith does not save us because it produces good works. 

Jesus has, by His substitutionary and sin-atoning death, "brought in an everlasting righteousness" for His people. Hear the blessed tidings brought to us by the Prophet Isaiah, "He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes, we are healed!" (Isaiah 53:5)  

Stupendous thought! We are healed by His stripes! We are healed by stripes inflicted by Jehovah on His beloved Son! What a mystery is this! How utterly incomprehensible! Well does the Apostle say, "How unsearchable are God's judgments, and His ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33)  

Faith saves us simply as apprehending Christ, in and through whom we are reconciled to God. But the faith which apprehends Christ aright, will always "work by love," (Galatians 5:6)   and "purify the heart," (Acts 15:9)   and "overcome the world!" (1 John 5:4-5)  

If the faith which we possess does not operate in this way, it is a mere dead faith and can no more save us than the faith of devils! Yet many rest their hope for salvation, in a mere notional faith that is unproductive of good works. God-given saving faith always unites us unto Christ, as branches to the vine; and enables us, by virtue derived from Him, to bring forth fruit to His glory!

[Charles Simeon]

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

God Beholds Him with Pleasure and Delight!

There is a wide difference between ostentatious sanctity and true devotion to God. Hypocrites always endeavor to attract the attention of others. 

The truly holy man, on the contrary, desires privacy and retirement. Though he is cheerful before men, his sorrows are deep before God. Were his groanings overheard by the world, he would probably be made an object of pity or derision; but God beholds him with pleasure and delight! 

"This is the one I esteem he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My Word!" Isaiah 66:2 

"The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love! Psalm 147:11 

"The Lord takes delight in His people; He crowns the humble with salvation!" Psalm 149:4 

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise!" Psalm 51:17

What inexpressible comfort should this administer to humble penitents! The humbler the thoughts that we have of ourselves the greater does God esteem and delight in us. 

[Charles Simeon] 

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

Matthew 6:1 ... Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 6:5 ... And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Matthew 6:16 ... Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. ❤

What a Solemn Thing!!

Daniel 5:1, 4-6, 26-28, 30-31. King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale, and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together, and his legs gave way! This is what these words mean: "God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom! 

What a solemn thing to die at such a moment! Yet how many are there, who, if not slain like him yet are called away from the midst of the mirth and pleasures of this life, as unprepared to die as this heathen king! 

 It was so at the time of the Flood! 

 It will be so at the end of the world! 

 It is so daily and hourly! 

"The foolish virgins" greatly outnumber those who are wise; and have their oil to seek when the bridegroom arrived. 

Lost sinner! Might not God justly destroy you instantly with fire, as He did Nadab and Abihu? "So, fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord!" (Leviticus 10:2) Might not God cause the earth to swallow you up, as He did to Korah and his rebellious followers? (Numbers 16:31) How many sudden deaths take place all around you, some old, some young, and some in the prime of life! Are the illnesses and accidents which you see or feel, no warnings? But you have a handwriting; yes, the handwriting of God Himself! You may see it in the Scriptures of truth. There you may see written as with a sunbeam, "God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting." 

All hope of entering Heaven will be quickly taken from you, if you do not turn unto God with your whole heart! While you are living at ease, and putting the thoughts of death far from you, God may be saying, "You fool! This night your soul shall be required of you!" And oh, how terrible would this be to you! "What hope has the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?" (Job 27:8) "How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!" (Psalm 73:19)  

Your soul must be covered with the sin-atoning blood of Jesus, or your sins will infallibly plunge you into everlasting perdition! Seize then the fleeting hour. Adore your God that you have not been taken away, as thousands of your fellow-creatures have been with all your sins upon you! 

"Today, while it is called today, do not harden your heart," (Hebrews 4:7) lest you perish in impenitence and unbelief! May the Lord grant that it may never be so with us! 

[Charles Simeon]

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

"Pride"

Nebuchadnezzar had "walked in pride," and been abased for it below the most contemptible of men. As secure as he had imagined himself from any calamity, God had inflicted in a moment a punishment, which might well deter all who heard of it from the commission of a similar offence. God is never at a loss for means to accomplish His righteous will! In the judgment inflicted on this haughty monarch, God has sufficiently shown, that He is both able and determined to "abase all who walk in pride." 

Now this consideration is of infinite importance, not to kings only, but to all the human races. Pride is natural to man. There is not a more powerful principle in our fallen nature, than pride. The ungodly world is full of it. There is not any distinction, natural or acquired, which is not made an occasion of self-exaltation and self-delight. If a man is born of high parentage or has acquired rank or fortune by his own exertions, how will he be puffed up with his honors, and almost imagine himself to be made of a finer clay than others! 

"My might and my wisdom have procured all these things for me!" Nor is this confined to the ungodly. There are among those who profess godliness, many, who are as full of pride and conceit as those who are altogether ignorant of saving religion. Some, like the Pharisee in the Gospel, "trust in themselves that they are righteous, and despise others." They say in their hearts, "Stand by yourself; do not come near to me! I am holier than you." Of these God says, "They are smoke in My nostrils!" (Isaiah 65:5) 

Others, like Diotrephes, "love to have the pre-eminence;" and are never so happy as when they are setting forth their accomplishments, and passing judgment upon all that they see and hear. Self-admiration, self-conceit, self-seeking, and self-promotion are their characteristic features. Not a few, it is to be feared, "being lifted up with pride, fall into the condemnation of the devil." (1 Timothy 3:6) 

Even truly godly men are by no means so holy, but that they are in continual danger of being drawn into the indulgence of this evil principle.  Hezekiah, even after his most extraordinary deliverances from enemies without, and illness within so far forgot himself as to be lifted up with pride; and thereby provoked God to withdraw from his descendants the mercies that had been given to him. Paul himself was visited with a thorn in his flesh, to keep him humble, "lest he should be exalted above measure!" (2 Corinthians 12:7) 

Be it known then to all, that they need to watch and pray against this malignant evil; for God will surely abase all in whom it is found. Some, like Manasseh, God will put a hook into his nose, bind him in bronze shackles, and take him into captivity. Others, like Peter, God will leave to fall, and to disgrace their holy profession. Others, like Pharaoh or Herod, God will plunge into the bottomless abyss of Hell! Let us never then forget, that "the proud in heart are an abomination to the Lord!" "I hate pride and arrogance!" (Proverbs 8:13) "The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished!" (Proverbs 16:5)  

Those who are under the influence of the sin of pride, always find means to hide it from their own eyes. But it is to no purpose to deceive ourself, as God will not be imposed upon. He sees the pride, wherever it exists, and He hates it with a perfect hatred! Let us then endeavor to find out even the most hidden workings of this abominable evil and implore help from God to mortify and subdue it! 

[Charles Simeon] 

Daniel 4:37 ... Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

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

The Constraining Love of Jesus!

The love of Jesus has a constraining power, which invincibly impels us to live unto Him. Let it once be "shed abroad in our hearts," and we shall instantly exclaim with rapture, "My Lord, and my God!" "What have I to do any more with idols?" will be the natural effusion of our souls! (Hosea 14:8)  

We will feel a holy indignation at the thought of having wickedly sinned against Him for so long and shall address Him in the language of His repenting people, "O Lord, our God, other masters besides You have ruled over us, but we will acknowledge and mention Your name alone!" (Isaiah 26:13)  

Walk with God as His dear children. Commit to Him your every care and expect from Him a supply of all your needs! Motivated by His all-constraining love, be ready to sacrifice every earthly consideration, and to even lay down life itself for Him! 

[Charles Simeon] 

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 ... For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Titus 2:14 ...  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Galatians 2:20 ... I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. ❤

A Work of Grace

There is a just mixture of hope and fear, which every Christian would cherish in contemplating his own experience, and the state of the Church of Christ. On the one hand there certainly is ground for fear, whether we judge from analogy, or from what we behold with our eyes: What multitudes of blossoms are annually cut off by frost! 

Of those that set, how many are blighted by an eastern wind! Of those that grow, how many are blown off by storms and tempests! Of those that hang upon the tree, how many, when gathered, prove rotten at the core! Thus, it is seen in the religious world: Many make a fair show for a little while, and then fall off from their profession. Others are blighted and come to naught. Others look well for a season but are beaten down by storms of persecution and temptation. 

And of those who maintain their profession to the end, how many will at last be found unsound at heart! If this casts a damp upon our joys, and teaches us to moderate our expectations, it need not, it ought not, to rob us of all our confidence: for though sound fruit may be blown off from a tree, no sound Christian shall ever be separated from the Lord Jesus! 

Of this the Apostle was fully persuaded: and, under this conviction, he thanked God for the converts at Philippi, whose sincerity he had no reason to doubt, and of whose perseverance in the divine life he therefore entertained the most optimistic hopes. 

[Charles Simeon] 

Philippians 1:6 ... Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

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

Say, Is Not This Lovely?

Great and rich believers, along with lowly and poor believers are all one in Christ and are equal with each other!  The same confessions of sin, however humiliating they may proceed equally from the hearts of all. The same petitions for grace, for mercy, for strength are asked by all. The same devout gratitude for spiritual blessings is poured forth by all. The Word is pronounced with the same authority to all, and entire submission to it is required from them all. The same exceedingly great and precious promises are guaranteed to them all. The same priceless inheritance is reserved in Heaven for all who by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, receive and obey the Gospel. 

View both rich and poor believers, sitting down together at the table of the Lord as guests equally invited, and equally accepted by the great Master of the feast! All eating of the same bread; all drinking of the same cup; all receiving into their souls, the same divine blessings. Say, is not this lovely? Is it not a true picture of Heaven itself, where the poor beggar Lazarus, whose sores the dogs once licked, because he had not a friend to bind them up now sits down with all the Prophets and Apostles of the Lord at the marriage supper of the Lamb! Yes! 

Thus, it is in the Church below. The rich and the poor meet together, for the Lord is the Redeemer of them all, the Father of them all, the Friend of them all, the portion of them all! In Christ's church on earth, both poor and rich are all in a measure poor in spirit, mournful over their sinfulness, meek and humble, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, holy and Christly! 

In the body of Christ, there is no place for despising the poor, or envying the rich as the same honor and blessedness belong to all! 

[Charles Simeon] 

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

James 1:9-10 ... Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

Galatians 3:28 ... There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:11 ... Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

Romans 12:5 ... So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. ❤

Genuine Faith!!

Do not suppose that genuine faith in Christ, is a mere assent to Scripture truths which you have been taught by your parents! If you would not eternally perish, I charge you before God, to dismiss from your minds all such delusive expectations, and to seek from God that genuine faith which alone can save and sanctify the soul. True "faith is the gift of God!" (Ephesians 2:8) 

Nothing but the almighty power of God can form genuine faith in the soul. If ever you have believed to the saving of your soul, it must have been through the operation of divine grace! If we possess saving faith, then Christ will become our meditation and delight. The height and depth, and length and breadth of His unsearchable love will occupy our minds and inflame our hearts with love to Him! 

Genuine faith will always "work by love." Galatians 5:6 

Genuine faith will always "overcome the world." 1 John 5:4 

Genuine faith will always "purify the heart." Acts 15:9 

See then, whether your faith produces these effects! For, if it does not, it is but "a dead faith" and "the faith of devils!" (James 2:19) If your faith is not "the faith of God's elect," (Titus 1:1) then it will only deceive you to your everlasting ruin. If God has indeed granted saving faith to you, then you have the greatest gift that you can ever possess, in this world or the next. Crowns and kingdoms, in comparison with it are no more than a speck of dust on a scale! 

If God has indeed granted saving faith to you then you have obtained the forgiveness of all your sins! If God has indeed granted saving faith to you then you have within your own bosom a sanctifying principle which shall progressively transform you into the very image of the Lord Jesus! If God has indeed granted saving faith to you--then you have "a priceless inheritance, an inheritance that is reserved in Heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay!" (1 Peter 1:4) 

[Charles Simeon] 

James 2:19 ... Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 

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

A Single Word ...

When He was on earth, Jesus never coerced any to be His followers by outward force a single word was sufficient to subdue the stoutest heart! If He said to Matthew the greedy tax collector, "Follow Me!" then not all the wealth of kingdoms could detain His willing captive! If He said, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately!" then behold, the covetous extortioner is instantly transformed into His benevolent and obedient follower! He effectually called to Himself, whomever He desired. 

Such was His all-constraining power, that, without hesitation, they left all that they had, and followed Him! And though He promised His subjects nothing but poverty and persecution in this world, yet they all delighted to be His devoted followers and gloried in suffering for His sake. So entirely did they yield up themselves to Him, that opposition served only to rivet their affections to Him, and to confirm them in their determination to live and die in His service! 

To this day, multitudes in every place take, as it were, an oath of allegiance to Him, and are made willing to even lay down their lives for Him! 

[Charles Simeon] 

Matthew 4:18-22 ... And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.  And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

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

Look to The Eternal Outcome!

The doctrine of God's all-disposing providence is most comforting to the mind of man. If everything were left to chance or were at the disposal of mortal men, we would have nothing to cheer us in adversity, or to moderate our pride in prosperity. What a comfort is the thought that all things are directed by our all-wise God, who "does according to His will with all the angels of Heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth!" 

Whatever the designs of men may be, the fact that "His counsel shall surely stand" preserves our minds composed and peaceful in every situation, and in every condition. We must not think that God interposes only in great concerns, such as the fate of empires. He equally interests Himself in all the events that are daily and hourly occurring, even in the most trivial matters. 

Whatever trials we have, or whatever blessings we enjoy God must be regarded as the true and only source of all! We must learn how to judge of everything, whether prosperous or adverse, in our own affairs. We must always look to the eternal outcome! What will prosperity benefit us, if it draws us away from God, and leads us, like the rich fool, to fix our happiness on things below? On the other hand, what reason can we have to complain of afflictions, if they are sanctified to our spiritual and eternal good? 

Our severest afflictions are intended to humble us, and to bring us to the footstool of our God. We should receive all of our personal afflictions as from Him; and, having done so, we should "hear the rod, and Him who appointed it." Were we but attentive to God's voice in afflictive dispensations, we would say to the instruments of our trials, as Joseph did to his brethren, "It was not you who sent me here, but God!" 

Instead of quarreling with second causes, we should kiss the divine hand that smote us! Do not then be so much concerned to get rid of present trials, as to have them made subservient to the good of your souls. Only trust in Him who orders all of our affairs with unerring wisdom and unbounded love! 

[Charles Simeon]

Matthew 10:29-30 ...Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Romans 8:28 ... And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. ❤

"Am I This Blessed Person?"

Ask yourselves, "Am I this blessed person?" 

Do I so live in this world, that others notice the holiness of my walk, and my entire devotion to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Do I, instead of loving the world, account it a dreary wilderness? Do I renounce the pomp's and vanities of this wicked world, and the sinful lusts of the flesh? Am I dying unto the world, to its cares, its pleasures, its maxims, its habits, its friendship? Am I "crucified unto the world, and is the world crucified unto me by the cross of Christ," so that I value it no more than a man does who is in the very throes of death? (Galatians 6:14)  

In my passage through this wilderness world, am I leaning constantly on my beloved Savior, saying, "In the Lord I have righteousness and strength!" (Isaiah 45:24)  

If these things are true of you, then as your sympathetic high priest, in every time of need, He will be with you: to counsel you by His wisdom, to uphold you by His power, and to enrich you with His benefits! What an all-sufficient support you have in this dreary wilderness world! Your ever-present Savior shields you, and cares for you, and guards you as the apple of His eye! 

[Charles Simeon] 

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

Song of Solomon 8:5 ... Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

Jude 24... Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,❤

God's Chastening Rod!

They know from whence all their trials spring even from the hand of God Himself! They see their afflictions to be the fruit of their heavenly Father's love, sent for the production of the most gracious ends. They feel within themselves the humbling, sanctifying efficacy of their afflictions. They perceive that their trials are instrumental to the carrying on of God's work within them, and to the enhancing of that weight of glory which shall be granted to them at the last day. They know that their afflictions, of whatever kind they are, "do not spring out of the ground!" (Job 5:6) 

They understand that their trials are all appointed by God in number, weight, measure, and duration. If it is disease of body, it is God who inflicts the wound. If the trial comes from any other quarter, it still is God's chastening rod that strikes us, with a view to our spiritual good, "that we may be made partakers of His holiness. 

They realize that "no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11) 

Our trials, of whatever kind, are to humble us, to purge away our dross, to make us cleave more closely to our Savior, and to fit us for our eternal rest! To view them in this light will greatly compose our minds. Instead of murmuring against the Lord we shall be thankful to Him. Instead of increasing our misery our trials shall be a source of joy. "Hear the rod and the One who appointed it!" (Micah 6:9) 

There is no rod which has not a voice to us. By putting us into His furnace, we shall be purged from our dross, and come out of it as vessels better fitted for His service! (Malachi 3:2-3) Well therefore may the consideration of the end for which afflictions are sent, and of the benefit to be derived from them; reconcile us to the difficulty of them and dispose us patiently to wait for the removal of them. Could Job have foreseen the outcome of his troubles, they would have been deprived of more than half their weight! 

All of our afflictions, of whatever kind they are, will endure but a little time! The Apostle speaks of all, even the heaviest afflictions, as "light and momentary!" "What is your life? You are but a mist that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away!" (James 4:14) And when once this frail life is ended, there is an everlasting termination of all our sorrows! Every genuine believer enters immediately into "God's presence, where there is fullness of joy for evermore!" Into that blissful world, nothing that is afflictive can ever enter to disturb their peace! "God will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever!" (Revelation 21:4)  

How little will the transient clouds that once occasioned a momentary gloom be remembered, when our dwelling is forever fixed in the full splendor of the Sun of Righteousness. Surely, we need not be much cast down at trials, however painful to flesh and blood when we consider that their duration is but as the twinkling of an eye, and that they will so soon terminate in inconceivable and everlasting felicity! 

[Charles Simeon] 

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

 1 Peter 1:6 ... Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

 2 Corinthians 4:17 ... For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; ❤

It Would Crush in an Instant!!

Salvation is a work which no man could accomplish for himself; it is a work which all the angels in Heaven were unequal to perform! The curse due to sin must be borne even the wrath of Almighty God! Who could sustain this weight? It would crush the highest archangel in an instant! None could endure it, but God's divine Son. He cheerfully undertaking to bear it in our place, the Father made Him our sin-atoning substitute; so that, divine justice being satisfied, and the law magnified by His obedience unto death saving mercy might be extended unto us, and reconciliation be made between God and His chosen people. 

Yet it was not enough for Jesus to die for their sin. "He will feed His flock like a Shepherd. He will carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young!" (Isaiah 40:11) They were wandering afar off, and they must be searched out. They were in rebellion and must be subdued. Even after they are truly converted in this poor world, they are weak, and must be upheld; they are tempted, and must be strengthened; they are beset with enemies, and must be protected; they must never be left to themselves one moment; they must have everything done for them; the whole care of preserving them, from first to last, must be devolved on Him who died for them! They must be "carried in the arms," "dandled on the knees," fed at the bosom, and be watched over exactly like new-born infants! 

Nothing less than this will suffice for the redeemed people of God. Though there are millions of His redeemed sheep spread over the face of the whole globe, they must all be attended to as much as if there were only one! 

[Charles Simeon]

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

John 10:11 ... I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Matthew 1:21 ... And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

John 10:27-28 ... My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. ❤

Above All Else!!

Our heart by nature is divided among ten thousand vanities all of which are sought in preference to God. Whatever can contribute to the satisfaction of the carnal heart, becomes an object of desire. Our hopes and fears, our joys and sorrows are called forth into powerful and continual operation to obtain the fleshly desires of our heart! 

But in order to have an acceptable walk with God, the desires of our heart must all center in Him. He will not accept a divided heart. God says, "My son, give Me your heart!" (Proverbs 23:26) and it must be given to Him entirely. To Him it must be exclusively devoted, in all its faculties. At least, nothing must be an object of hope or fear, joy or sorrow but in subservience to His glory, and in obedience to His commands. Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money!" (Luke 16:13)

There is "a singleness of eye," and "a singleness of heart," that is indispensable to a right walking with God to "Him who searches the heart and tries the thoughts!"

 [Charles Simeon] 

✞ ✞ ✞ 

Jeremiah 17:9 ... The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Mark 7:21-23 ... For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

 Proverbs 4:23 ... Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Psalm 139:23-24 ... Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.❤

The Mighty Sum!

David penned Psalm and gave it to the church, as a memorial of God's unbounded mercy and faithfulness towards him. Here we see what the subjects of our daily contemplation should be. Like David, we have numberless blessings from God's hands. Could we realize but one half of the mercies we have received, we would be overwhelmed with wonder and astonishment! 

From our youth up, even to the present moment, God's care of us has been unintermitted, and His interpositions truly wonderful. But still greater has been His care for our souls. Behold the multitudinous blessings of salvation which He has given to us; truly their number surpasses knowledge! How inestimable are our numberless mercies! Who can ever declare the value of pardon or peace, or holiness or eternal glory? 

Go down to the dread abodes of Hell and see the misery of unpardoned sin! Or go up to the regions of bliss in Heaven and see the joys that are at God's right hand for evermore! Or ponder the state of God's redeemed people here on earth, and contrast the liberty enjoyed by His children with the bondage endured by the slaves of Satan! Then you will see what unspeakable obligations we owe to God for His electing, redeeming, and regenerating grace! How incalculable is the price which Jesus paid for our numberless mercies! 

"You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed. It was with the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God!" (1 Peter 1:18-19)

In comparison with this, ten thousand worlds would have been a worthless sacrifice. How inconceivable is the cost which Jesus paid for our salvation! All the angels in Heaven could not count the mighty sum! All of our unsearchable mercies are the fruits of God's Sovereign Grace! And all are bestowed on the very chief of sinners. Yes, all of them are not only unmerited by us, but unsought! 

They were not given to us according to our works, but according to God's purpose and grace, which He purposed from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord! It seems astonishing, that men so indebted to their God, should be able to find time for everything but praise. David in his Psalms, sets a good example for us, "I will extol You, my God, O king; and I will bless Your name forever and ever!" (Psalm 145:1)

 Let us only learn to rightly appreciate the mercies which we have received, and there will be no bounds to our gratitude, and no end to our praise! David said, "My mouth shall tell of your righteousness and your salvation all day long!" (Psalm 71:15) How unlike David are the generality of professors! What other subject of conversation can we ever find so interesting, so useful, so worthy of a rational being and, above all, so suitable to a redeemed soul! 

The apostles "preached to men the unsearchable riches of Christ!" (Ephesians 3:8) So filled with this subject was the apostle Paul, that "he resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified!"(1 Corinthians 2:2)   This subject is utterly inexhaustible! In it "are contained all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge!" (Colossians 2:3)

[Charles Simeon]

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

Love Righteousness and Hate Wickedness!

There are many unbelievers whose external characters are unimpeachable; they abstain from open iniquity, and they may be kind and do many charitable things. But the distinctive mark of the true believer is that he "loves righteousness and hates iniquity." He looks upon sin as the worst enemy of his soul. Not contented with suppressing the outward acts of sin, he strives to mortify its inward motions. The existence of sin within him is his affliction, his burden, and his grief. He abhors his sin! He loathes himself on account of his sin! He often cries with anguish of heart, "O what a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death!" (Romans 7:24)  

As for righteousness, he considers it as the health and felicity of his soul. It is the very element in which he desires to live. Were he possessed of holiness in ever so high a degree, he would not be satisfied, as long as there were any measure of it which he had not attained. He would be "as holy as God is holy," and "as perfect as God is perfect." We repeat it, that this is the distinctive character of a true believer! 

Unbelievers, whatever their conduct may be, have no real hatred of secret sin, and no sincere delight in the secret exercises of genuine piety; but in the believer, these dispositions radically and abidingly exist! How vain are the hopes of Heaven, by those who are not lovers of righteousness, and haters of iniquity! Holiness and happiness are inseparable! It is in vain to hope for the "oil of joy" if we are not lovers of righteousness, and haters of iniquity. Those who conform to the world's standard of goodness may be applauded by other worldlings; but God will not ratify their approval. The precepts of the Gospel are the infallible and only rule of Christian duty! They were exhibited in all their perfection by our blessed Lord, whose own life was a commentary on them. 

[Charles Simeon] 

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

Psalm 11:7 ... For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

1 John 3:10 ... In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

Psalm 45:7 ... Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. ❤