On Our Way!!

He whose daily life is a fixing his eyes on Jesus, has Heaven on his way to Heaven!

[Henry Law]

Philippians 3:20 ... For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ❤

"Last Day of The Year"

We kneel together, O great God, for the last time in the year, which has now reached its close. May our last united cry be our best the most glowing in fervor the most abased in humility the most fragrant in the reconciling blood the most hallowed by the interceding Spirit. 

We look to ourselves, and we turn to You. Our earthly days roll rapidly away. Our moments vanish while we grasp them. But You change not. Time is not time to You. From everlasting to everlasting Your name is, "I am that I am." 

Glorious Jehovah, we are astounded at Your unspeakable greatness. We marvel more at Your surpassing goodness. Trusting in Your superabounding grace, we thus draw near. It befits us at the end of each day, to bring the tribute of thanksgiving for our daily mercies. What shall we render for all the mercies of all the days of the year now fled? 

Oh, that we could gather all into one mass and meet them with deserving praise! But we cannot count the ocean's sands. How, then, can we calculate Your mercies, which in number are far more! Our thanks are worthless for the least of all Your favors. What are they when weighed against the wondrous whole! 

We know but a part, but that part surpasses praise. But we ardently desire that the concluding year should bear witness that we bring adorations with overflowing hearts. For all Your personal mercies for the measure of health with which we have been favored for the preservation of our frames from fatal sickness and from evil accident for the comforts of a sheltering roof for the sufficiency of food and clothing for the continuance of mental and bodily power.

Good Lord, accept the praises of our inmost souls! For Your goodness to us as a family for mutual support and help for the sweet delights of domestic harmony and peace for seats now filled which might have been a vacant blank. 

Good Lord, accept the praises of our inmost souls! For Your distinguishing favors to us as a nation for the peace which smiles upon our borders for the plenty of our fields for the absence of wasting sickness and destroying plagues for the protection of right laws for the Bible open to our use for the continued light and liberty of our glorious Reformation.

Good Lord, accept the praises of our inmost souls! Enriched with all these blessings, and with countless more, we close this year. We know our privileges. We feel them. We bless Your holy name! But other thoughts oppress us. We blush to lift up our eyes unto You, O God of all grace and love. Shame and confusion of face humble us to the very dust. Wherever You have been boundless in mercy we have been abundant in sin. We cannot measure our ingratitude. We cannot estimate our vileness. We cannot in thought reach to the extent of our transgressions throughout this traversed year. Each day has added to our guilt. Each scene has witnessed our straying feet and our offending tongues. 

What is there in heaven or in earth, above, around, without, within which condemns us not? The sun condemns us, which has seen our misdeeds; the darkness, too, which hides nothing from You. The cruel accuser justly accuses. How often have Your good angels been provoked to leave us! Your righteous law, your holy Word, our sin-soiled consciences, our public and our private hours, our neighbors and ourselves write dark things against us. We make no denial. We frame no excuse. We confess, Father, we have sinned throughout this year against heaven and before You and are no more worthy to be called Your sons. 

But still, we live! We live to fly as contrite penitents to Your extended arms! We know that You will not cast us off for Jesus brings us nearby. You will not condemn us for Your dear Son died in our place. You will not mark the mountains upon mountains of our sins for the Savior has removed them all. His precious blood has washed out every crimson stain! His beauteous righteousness covers all our deformities! 

O God, our God, we bid farewell, then, to this year, clinging to His cross, sheltered by His side, hidden in His wounds, cleansed in His blood, covered by His spotless robe, beautified in His salvation. Thus, we conclude our last united prayer, blessing You for Jesus Christ. All honor, and glory, and might, and majesty, and dominion, be unto You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the God of our salvation, now, henceforth, and ever. Amen. 

[Henry Law]

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"Christmas Day"

Lord, we will extol You, O God, our King. We will bless Your name forever and ever. But especially on this hallowed morn, we desire to pour forth floods of adoring praise. O our souls, bless the Lord. O every faculty within us, magnify His boundless love. We bring our thanks for the gift of gifts. Your only begotten Son is born into this world. He is made bone of our bones, flesh of our flesh. The least gift from heaven to guilty earth exceeds all praise. 

What shall we render unto You for sending Your own dear Son to take upon Him our nature, and truly to be one of the family of man! Utterance cannot express due gratitude. But accept, we beseech You, the breathings of Your Spirit in our hearts. Mark how fervently we love You, and how we strive to testify thanksgiving. "Wonder of wonders! The Son of God comes down from heaven that to heaven we poor sinners may be raised. Our Lord Jesus Christ takes the manhood into God that we may become partakers of the divine nature. He is born one with us that we may be one with Him forever. 

Herein is love, when we could not rise to Him, He flies down on the wings of grace to raise us to Himself. Herein is power, that when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart, God has joined them in indissoluble oneness. He has united infinite opposites in one Christ. Herein is God's wisdom in the highest, that when we were utterly undone by sin, without will to return, without intellect to devise recovery Jesus appears on earth, able as God to save us to the uttermost, and qualified as man to die our death, to shed sin-atoning blood in our stead, and to work out perfect righteousness in our behalf. 

Father, God most merciful, help us to bless You more. In spirit we take our station by the watching shepherds. So, we strive to expand our contracted hearts. We hear, "Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord!" (Luke 2:10-11)

We hear, we believe, we rejoice, we give thanks, we adore. We bid all fears to flee away. We call upon our consciences to bathe in an ocean of repose. We look up with filial confidence. We see You our reconciled Father. Separation has ceased. We draw near, because You have thus drawn near to us. We love You because we have this proof that You have so loved us. A Redeemer has come! We put all our trust in Him. We believe that we are fully and forever redeemed from sin, and all sin's penalties and woes. You have raised up a horn of salvation for us. We see its all-sufficient might. We embrace it with undoubting faith. We realize that You have saved us. Like Simeon we clasp the new-born Savior to our hearts. 

We exult that He is ours, and we are His. We are one with Him. Therefore, You are our Father because His Father, and His God because our God. Father, again we say, help us to bless You for all the benefits of this wondrous birth. Give us grace, that our lives may praise You better than our lips. Keep our thanksgiving free from every blot. You have given so much for us, that heaven itself could give no more. Here we present ourselves to Your undivided service. Accept us. Preserve us. Rule within us. 

May Your dear Son indeed be born within us. May His continual indwelling sanctify every movement of our minds. May the good tidings of this day have free course and be glorified throughout earth's length and breadth. Wherever man lives, may he rejoice in the Child born, the son given. Hasten the time when He who as at this time came to visit us in great humility, shall come again in His glorious majesty with all His saints. Holy Father, we offer our prayers and praises in the way which You have ordained Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

[Henry Law]

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Merry Christmas!

For the Ungodly!

To redeem poor sinners, Jesus came down from Heaven, put on the rags of our mortality, agonized, bled, died. Jesus is made His people's substitute, burden-bearer, sin-remover, guilt-sustainer. Their debt is placed to His account. His riches pay the full amount. Sin is removed from the sinner and placed on the Sinless! 

Their curse is rolled on Him and He endures it until no more remains! God deals with Jesus as the guilty one! He, as spotless Deity, receives imputed sins, and fully expiates them all. In the vicarious victim, God's justice is satisfied, and wrath expires! Jesus, in His life, in the garden, on the cross suffers their sufferings, dies their death, and so becomes their uttermost salvation! 

His pains are their pardon! His stripes are their healing! His agony is their recovery! 

[Henry Law] 

Romans 5:6 ... For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

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"Hold Me Up!"

Almighty Father, 

Conscious of our own weakness and trusting only in Your grace and power we beseech You this day to multiply Your mercy upon us. We are going forth to tread on slippery ground may You uphold us. 

Our march is through a land of which Satan is the prince may You protect us. Snares at each turn await our steps may You guide us. We look around and fear. 

We look up to You and take courage. By Your grace alone can we stand. If Your grace should fail us instantly we fall. Our earnest prayer is, "Hold me up and I shall be safe!"

[Henry Law] 

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

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,

1 Peter 1:5 ... Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ❤

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. ❤

Divine Protection ~

Firm confidence is expressed in God's protecting power. May we find Him a very present help in all our troubles!

1. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

The Ark behind the veil was regarded as the symbol of God's presence. Common gaze penetrates not the secret place. In general men do not strive for acquaintance with God. They do not seek Him in Christ. But those who thus find Him will ever cling to Him with strengthening grasp. They will rest in Him as in a calm and cool abode. His shadow will ward off the fiery darts of Satan and avert the hot persecution of the ungodly.

2. "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him will I trust."

Faith makes bold profession. It casts off fear and avows that in God it finds a safe retreat—a sure protection—an almighty friend. This confidence will never be disappointed.

3-6. "Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the harmful pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust; His truth shall be your shield and rampart. You shall not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day; nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday."

Troubles are enumerated such as are common to this mortal lot. But trust in God exalts above their fatal reach. The fowler may lay hidden snares, but they shall not entrap. The noxious pestilence shall inflict no deathful wound. The Almighty shall extend His covering wing. His faithful promises shall uphold the combatant in the hour of battle. By night, by day, the dwelling shall be impervious to plague.

There may be a literal reference to the deliverance of Israel's sons, and their exemption from all contact with harm when plagues laid low the Egyptian hosts. There may be spiritual reference to the deliverance of God's children from the destroying attacks of Satan. But one truth is undeniable. The real happiness and safety of true believers is emphatically assured, and we are exhorted to pray for sustaining faith, and in all perils to trust without one fear.

7-10. "A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation; there no evil shall befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling."

Other terms are added to strengthen assurance. Those who by faith repose on God shall surely be upheld. Though troubles be multiplied, they shall never be cast off. In much apparent peril they shall be really safe.

11-12. "For He shall give His angels charge over You, to keep You in all Your ways. They shall bear You up in their hands, lest You dash Your foot against a stone."

This promise is distinctly addressed to Jesus. As such the devil quoted it, and Jesus heard without rejection. If we are one with Jesus, the promises which were poured upon His head will flow down to us and will invest us in security.

13-16. "You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shall you trample under feet. Because He has set His love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him My salvation."

The same encouraging strain still sounds. All who have set their love on God, and all who know His name, may claim fulfillment. They shall have deliverance in every day of trouble. God will honor them in time, and honor them with a long life, even forever and ever. Happy indeed are the people who thus dwell in the secret place of the Most High.

[Henry Law]

Psalm 91

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;  There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.  He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.  With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. ❤

The Shield

So many are saying, "God will never rescue him!" But You, O Lord, are a shield around me.  In darkest days faith shines with brightest glow. In the wild storm it looks to God and sings.  No weapon can succeed against it.  No billows can submerge it. God, even God Himself, surrounds His children as a shield.  The shaft which touches them must pierce through God! 

[Henry Law]

Psalm 28:7 ... The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

Isaiah 54:17 ... No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. ❤

In Love!!

Behold the overflowing riches of the grace and love of Jesus. Every page of the Gospel story teaches the love of His heart to His redeemed people. 

In love He receives His people as His own. Before the world was framed, He inscribed them on the tablets of His heart. 

In love He undertakes their cause and espouses them as His bride. 

In love He works out for them a righteousness so bright, so perfect, so glorious that Jehovah's eye can find no flaw, no spot, no blemish in it. 

In love He beautifies them with His shining robe and fits them for the banquet in the Heaven of heavens. 

In love He guards them from every foe and makes them more than conquerors over all the hosts of darkness. 

In love He causes all things to work together for their good. In love He leads them to lie down in the rich pastures of Bible truth and instructs them in the Word which is "able to make them wise unto salvation." 

In love He will come again to receive them to Himself. 

In love He will present them pure and blameless to His Father with exceeding joy. 

In love He will dwell among them through the ages of eternity! 

[Henry Law] 

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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.

1 John 3:1 ... Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Revelation 1:5 ...  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, ❤

The Silly Moth is Caught!

Why is this world such a wide sea of evil? Why do earth's multitudes roll so easily to Hell? The tastes of the mass of the human race are groveling and vile.  They only care to sip the vulgar cup of time and sense.  Their sin-soiled garments and polluted feet prove that they wallow in defiling mire. 

See the worldling.  A temptation meets him.  A gilded bait allure.   A sweet indulgence opens its inviting arms.  What follows?  The silly moth is caught! 

Pleasure whispers, "Come and partake!" Desire acquiesces. Nature surrenders. Thus, Satan leads his crowds down misery's downward slope. Quickly, easily, they glide along. The rolling pebble has no power to stop. The downhill torrent is incapable of turning. To them, liberty is unknown. 

The clash of heavy chains attests their bondage. Satan drags them and they must obey. The world gives laws they tremblingly submit. They crouch, the slaves of many an insulting tyrant! 

[Henry Law]

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1 Corinthians 10:13 ... There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

James 1:14 ... But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. ❤

Not Alone!!

If you stood alone, it would be presumption to hope. Because you are not alone, it is offence to tremble.

[Henry Law]

Romans 5:2 ... By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Ephesians 6:14 ... Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

2 Corinthians 1:24 ... Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

Hebrews 13:5 ... Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. ❤

The Bible!!

The Bible is the richest treasure of the world! Without it, the palace is a dark blank. With it, the poor cottage sparkles with celestial light. It is the transcript of God's heart. It tells what human reason is too weak to find. It is pure truth without one shadow of error. It gives knowledge on all things needful for time and for eternity. It is a safe guide through life's entangled path. 

It is a compass through shoals and rocks; amid winds and waves; to Heaven's eternal rest! The wise man is ignorant without it. The peasant learns from it, salvation's road. 

It is a solace for every hour. It is a companion always ready to converse. It cheers when other comforts fail. It is arrayed in every charm for the intellect. It never wearies. It is always fresh. Its oldest truths cannot grow old. Its readers become more wise and more holy. 

Other books may puzzle and corrupt. The Bible is from Heaven and leads to Heaven. It enters the heart with purifying grace. The more you search the Bible the more your minds will wonder, and your hearts will love. Read it as literally true. Then no human philosophy will beguile you. Ponder its characters. You will find on them the intrinsic stamp of truth. 

[Henry Law] 

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

Jeremiah 15:16 ... Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. ❤

God's Cup!!

God's mode of dealing is often wrapped in mystery. We fail to understand why one is elevated to the highest rank while others seem to waste their days in poverty and obscurity. But no doubts should arise. It should be firmly fixed in our persuasions, that in all these matters, God's hand prevails. "The Lord brings death and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; He humbles, and he exalts." (1 Samuel 2:6-7)  

In the same way, afflictions, sorrows and trials are all appointed by the same unerring wisdom! God's hand holds a cup which is mixed in accordance with His sovereign and righteous will. According to His good pleasure, He causes all men to drink from it. But what will be the portion of the wicked? "It is God alone who judges. For the Lord holds a cup in His hand; it is full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours the wine out in judgment, and all the wicked must drink it, draining it to the dregs!" (Psalm 75:7-8)  

Let the unsaved tremble! They are forewarned that they must drink God's cup to the dreg's indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish forever! 

[Henry Law] 

Deuteronomy 32:39 ...  See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

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This Cheating and Deluding Scene!

A form is seen coming up from the wilderness; but not alone, not unsupported. There is another form near the first, and on Him all weight is laid. The truth is clear. We see the Christian deriving support from his Lord. They proceed together along a path leading up from the wilderness. The believer is called to leave all for Christ; to come out from a fallen and polluted world; to shun its pleasures; to turn from its smiles; to disregard its frowns; to close its ear to its enticing voice; to reject its fascinating cup; to trample on its principles and maxims; to feel that the world in its every aspect is opposed to Christ. Such views are the true teachings of the Spirit. 

The believer, a pupil in this school, arises and departs. But there is no profit in what he abandons. The world, when truly seen, is a waste wilderness. It is no fair garden of Eden, fragrant with beauteous flowers. It is no vineyard, in which grapes hang down in luxuriant clusters. It is no peaceful meadow, free from incursions of devouring beasts. It is no lovely grove, in which the melody of cheerful birds delights the ear. It is no pleasant path, in which surrounding prospects give enchanting views. It is a desert wild, dismal, and unsatisfying! 

Here no manna falls, and no refreshing streams trickle by the side. Its food is poison. To taste is to imbibe death. What is its produce? Thorns! Thistles! Briers! It yields no nurture but disappointment, misery and woe. It is an enemy's land, beset with perils and encompassed with malignant foes. The believer is called to come up from this cheating and deluding scene! 

But how can the Christian obey? He is weak and powerless in himself. But a mighty arm is nearby! Jesus says: "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand!" (Isaiah 41:10) He extends the arm of His omnipotence and cries, "Come, lean on Me!" 

As without Jesus the first step cannot be taken, so without Him advance cannot be made. But He is ever near, willing, and able. The heavenward path is a steep ascent. It requires strong limbs to climb. But leaning on Jesus, the upward race may be run without loitering. The path also, through life's course, is slippery. Our feet are liable to slip. Snares and pitfalls are before us. Our feet are liable to stumble. But leaning on Him we are upheld, and safely guided. 

Thus, let us pass through life leaning on our Beloved. Let us lean on Him as we pass through the valley of the shadow of death. His rod and staff will surely comfort us. Let us enter Heaven leaning on the same arm. "Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her Beloved?" 

[Henry Law] 

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.

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The Happy Child!!

Survey the picture. It is lovely in repose. We seem to see a child without a single care seated securely by a parent's side. No anxious fears disturb. Undoubting trust spreads its calm influence. A Father, strong and watchful, is at hand. An arm is ready to defend. The happy child knows it and confides. 

The image tenderly depicts the true believer's blessed state: He sits in peace beside his God. Faith's wings have borne him upwards. His heart and thoughts have settled in a tranquil realm. The restless wanderings of former days are past. There was a time when he was tossed about on stormy waves. He wandered hopelessly in search of peace. But now he rests in his God. His home is by his Father's side! 

"The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him." With filial confidence, bring each trial, each trouble, each sorrow, each need, each affliction, each doubt, each distress, to your father's listening ear! God is near to cheer you, to bless you, to wipe your weeping eye, to soothe your wounded heart, to raise your drooping spirit, to send the pilgrim singing on his way. 

[Henry Law] 

Deuteronomy 33:12 ... And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.

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No Cradle Holds an Innocent One!

Adam fell, man's heart became entirely corrupt. "Every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time!" "Every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood." (Genesis 6:5, 8:21)  

Now, corruption can only propagate corruption. When evil fills the heart, evil effects will soon appear. From tainted sources, tainted waters flow. The root proclaims the qualities of its fruit. When poison permeates the veins, the whole body sickens. The parent reproduces his own likeness. Hence every child is born in sin. No cradle holds an innocent one! Each offspring of the human family comes into the world dead towards God, corrupt in heart, prone to iniquity, void of all righteousness, a willing slave of his father, Satan, blinded in intellect, a pilgrim towards a diabolical land, a vessel fitted for destruction! 

His heart has many tenants, but God is no longer there. The palace once so fair, is now overrun with weeds. Like Babylon in ruins, wild beasts of the wilderness roam there, and the houses are full of doleful creatures. (Isaiah 13:21, 22) May this darksome picture scare you from delusion's dream! 

Reader, surely such is your birth state! Has your soul realized the dreadful truth? Has the life-giving Spirit quickened you with regenerating might? Are you a new creation in Christ Jesus? If so, then surely you will praise God for His marvelous mercy and grace in saving you. 

 [Henry Law]

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Colossians 1:13-14 ... Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Psalm 51:5 ... Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Ephesians 2:3 ... Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. ❤

The Hard Couch of Sorrow!

Exquisite tenderness melts in these words. Assurance of compassion is most sweetly stated. Let no believer faint in the hour of trial. His feet may travel in affliction's road. He may be called to lie on the hard couch of sorrow. Troubles may roll over him as wave upon wave. But the eye of divine love ever watches him, the heart of divine love ever throbs sympathetically for him, the ear of divine love ever listens to his cry, the hand of divine love will in due season be outstretched to help him. 

The patient sufferer will sing with David in Psalm 18:19, "He led me to a place of safety; He rescued me because He delights in me." 

[Henry Law] 

Exodus 3:7 ... And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

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The Lamb's Bride!

Every true Christian is part of the redeemed Church the Bride, the Lamb's wife! She was beloved by the Heavenly Bridegroom before time began, with an unfathomable and immutable love! She is endowed by Him with all that He has, and with all that He is. She has a priceless inheritance reserved in Heaven for her pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay! 

He has placed all the precious promises as a treasure in her hands. His providences guide and defend her path. His righteousness is her beauteous robe, rendering her fit to shine forever in the palace of the heavenly King. Her seat is prepared beside Him on His throne. It would exhaust all time to give a brief survey of the glories which adorn her! Jesus enriches His chosen bride with the best of gifts! 

He withholds nothing precious from her. All of His attributes are her grand inheritance! His wisdom is hers to guide her! His power is hers to uphold her! His love is as the sun to cheer her! His faithfulness and truth are her shield and support! His Spirit is hers, to comfort, to teach, to solace, and to bless her! His righteousness is hers, to be her spotless robe. His Heaven is hers, to be her home! His throne is hers, to be her seat! His glory is hers, to be her crown! His eternity is hers, that she may rejoice forever!

[Henry Law] 

Revelation 19:7-9 ... Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

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Christians!!

Wide and diversified is the work belonging to the Church of Christ. In the household of God there is no pillow for the indolent. The term, 'an idle Christian', involves a contradiction. It has scarcely more meaning than a rayless sun, a waveless ocean, a noiseless waterfall, a rose without perfume. 

In this community each member has his appointed place. "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)  "Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord," (Romans 12:11) is the universal rule. The final welcome is, "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:23)

[Henry Law]

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The Sin Offering

SIN.  The sound is brief, but it presents a dark abyss of thought. No mind can trace its birth, no eye can see its death. Before the worlds, it scaled the heavens and dragged angels down. In life's first dawn, it entered Eden and slew innocence. It ends not with the end of time. It ever rolls on in its ever-deepening course. Reader, think much of sin! 

It is earth's death-blow. It marred the beauty of a beauteous world, and stripped it of its lovely robe. It caused the soil to harden, and the leaves to wither and decay. It turned fertility into weeds, and armed the brier with its bristling thorns. It made the clouds to blacken, and the storm to rage. It raised the tempest's roar, and plumed the lightning with its forked wings. It placed its foot upon a perfect workmanship, and left it a disordered wreck! Reader, think much of sin! It is man's ruin. Its most tremendous blight fell on our inner life. It drove the soul from peaceful fellowship with God. It changed the loving child into a hardened rebel. It robbed the mind of light. It rendered reason a bewildered maze. It made the heart a nest of unclean birds; a spring of impure streams; a whirlpool of tumultuous passions; a hot-bed of ungodly lusts; a den of God-defying schemes! 

It is the malady, the misery, the shame of our whole race! It is the spring of every tear! Each sigh which rends the bosom; each frown which ploughs the brow; each pain which racks the limbs, are cradled in its arms. It is the mother of that mighty monster--death! It digs each grave in every grave-yard. Each widow and each orphan tastes its gall. It fills each hospital with the sick. It strews the battlefield with the slain. It is the core in every grief. It is the worm which gnaws the root of peace. Reader, think much of sin! Its terrible destructions do not die in the grave. There is a region where its full-blown torments reign. It built the prison-house of Hell. It kindled quenchless flames. It forged the chains which bind lost sinners to their burning beds. It sharpened the undying sting of an upbraiding conscience. It arms the jailer, Satan, with his scourge. 

It bars the hopeless in that outer darkness, where weeping ever weeps, and wailing ever wails, and teeth forever gnash, and all is woe, which knows neither respite nor end. Reader, think much of sin! It works this bitter and eternal anguish, because God's curse attends it. It raised a rebel-hand against His will. It dared to violate His holy law. It strove to lay His honor in the dust. It trampled on the statute-book of heaven. Therefore God's anger fiercely burns against it. Hence every misery follows in its succession. He must be wretched, who has God against him! 

Reader, here is a picture in which all horrors meet! Regard it with an earnest eye. No fiction colors it. No power can over-paint the terrible reality. No artist's skill can represent a flame. The dreadful truth exceeds description. The lost writhe out eternity in fully learning the deserts of sin! 

Reader, receive the soul-reviving voice: Though sin is death, the sinner need not die. There is a fortress of escape. There is a remedy to heal these wounds. What though your sins are as countless as the sands? They all may disappear. What though the dye of each sin is double crimson? Each may be washed away. The filth may all be cleansed. The debts may be wiped out. The soul may meet Jehovah's eye without one stain. There is a way, by which the vilest may stand pure. God's love decreed a plan. He willed a ransom, and His Son achieved it. Let us draw nearer to the amazing sight! Each sin must bear its merited load of woe. Each curse must be endured. Each violation of the holy law must drink the dregs of condemnation. Jesus comes forth to help! The guiltless One takes the guilty place. 

The God-man represents His chosen flock. He stands as their complete sin-offering. He pays in anguish and in blood, their every due. Their wrath is endured. Their penalties are paid. Their sufferings are suffered. Their agonies are agonized. The saving work requires infinity of woe. Infinity of woe is borne by Him. His Deity enables, His manhood qualifies. Thus their sin is fully punished thus the redeemed are fully saved! 

 [Henry Law] 

Leviticus 4:3 ...  If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the Lord for a sin offering.

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