In The Solitudes of That Voiceless Ocean

The picture here is of an ocean, not near the shore, but far beyond sight of land, in the midst of a wide wilderness of waters, the illimitable horizon stretching on every side; and when the sounding line is let down, it cannot fathom the depth or reach the bottom! 

There, in the solitudes of that voiceless ocean, a plunge is heard! The surface is ruffled only for a moment; then the waves resume their usual calmness. The load, whatever it is, is never more seen. It is buried somewhere in these dark caverns! No spirit of the deep can ever come up from the silent caves to tell its story! 

Ships cross and recross where it fell, but no distinguishing marker is left on the unstable highway, to mark the spot. The sea can be tempted by no bribe; to give up the secret of its keeping, all trace is lost from sight and memory forever! 

That is a picture of what God does for all His redeemed people! 

[John MacDuff] 

Micah 7:19 ... He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

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

Laws of Nature?

Let us not dethrone and Un deify the great Maker and Sustainer, by substituting for His sovereign rule, what are commonly called the laws of nature. Winds, and earthquakes, and tempests are not the capricious outbreaks of unregulated mechanical force. The world's vast machinery, with all its varied and intricate movements, is under God's supervision and control. "He holds the winds in His fists." "He gathers the waters in the hollow of His hand." "He makes the clouds His chariot." "He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down." 

This offers a lesson of soothing consolation to many a stricken heart: That lightning which struck down my child, was an arrow out of the quiver of God! That wave which swept him from the vessel's side; or that hurricane which overthrew my dwelling and buried loved ones in the ruins had their pathway marked out by God! He brings forth the lightning out of His treasuries! He gives the sea its decree! He walks on the wings of the wind! All things are subservient to the controlling will and purposes of the Most-High God. 

 [John MacDuff] 

Isaiah 45:6-7 ... That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.

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

Necessity of Affliction

What a blessed motto and superscription over the dark lintels of sorrow: "There is a necessity for this!" Every arrow from the quiver of God is feathered with it! Write it, child of affliction, over every trial that your God sees fit to send! If He calls you down from the sunny mountain-heights to the darksome valleys hear Him saying: "There is a necessity for this!" If He has dashed the cup of earthly prosperity from your lips, curtailed your creature comforts, diminished your "basket and store" hear Him saying: "There is a necessity for this!" If He has ploughed and furrowed your soul with severe bereavement, extinguished light after light in your dwelling hear Him thus stilling the tumult of your grief, "There is a necessity for this!" 

 Yes, believe it there is some profound reason for your trial, which at present may be indiscernible to you. No furnace will be hotter than He sees to be needed. Be still and know that He is God! That "necessity," remember, is in the hands of infinite Love, infinite Wisdom, and infinite Power! Trust Him in little things, as well as in great things; in trifles as well as in disasters. Seek to have an unquestioning faith. Though other paths, doubtless, would have been selected by you had the choice been in your hands be it yours to listen to His voice at every turn of the road, saying, "This is the way, walk in it!"  We may not be able to understand it now, but one day we shall find that affliction is one of God's most blessed ministers, sent forth to "minister to those who are heirs of salvation." Sorrowful one! There is a reason for your chastisement. 

What! God loves me, when He is discharging His quiver upon me, emptying me from vessel to vessel, causing the sun of my earthly joys to set in clouds? Yes, afflicted, tempest-tossed one! He chastens you, because He loves you! This trial comes from His own tender, loving hand from His own tender, unchanging heart! Are you laid on a sick bed, are sorrowful months and wearisome nights appointed unto you? Let this be the pillow on which your aching head reclines: It is because God loves me! Is it bereavement which has swept your heart and desolated your dwelling? God appointed that chamber of death; He opened that tomb because He loves you! 

Believer! Rejoice in the thought that the chastening rod is in the hands of the living, loving Savior who died for you! Tribulation is the King's Highway, and yet that highway is paved with love. As some flowers require to be pressed before shedding their fragrance so does your God see fit to bruise you, to bring out your graces. If your heavenly Father's smile has for the moment been exchanged for the chastening rod, be assured there is some deep necessity for the discipline. There is nothing capricious in His dealings. Love is the reason of all that He does. There is no drop of wrath in that bitter cup you are called upon to drink! 

Erring human wisdom has no place in God's allotments. An earthly father may err yes, he is ever erring. But "as for God, His way is perfect!" (Psalm 18:13) This is the explanation of His every dealing: "Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things!" In our seasons of trial, when under some inscrutable painful dispensation, how apt is the murmuring thought to rise in our hearts: "All these things are against me! Might not this overwhelming blow have been spared? Might not this dark cloud, which has shadowed my heart and my home with sadness, have been averted? Might not my trial have been less severe? Surely the Lord has forgotten to be gracious!" 

No! These afflictions are errands of mercy in disguise! "He does not afflict willingly." There is nothing capricious or arbitrary about your God's dealings. Unutterable tenderness is the character of all His allotments! He appoints no needless pang. He has precious lessons that could not otherwise have been taught! Afflicted one! Be assured that there is some deep necessity in all that He does. In our calendars of sorrow, we may put this luminous mark against every trying hour: "It was needed!" Some excess branch in the tree required pruning, to increase its fruitfulness. Mourning one! 

He might have dealt far otherwise with you! He might have cut you down as a fruitless, worthless cumberer! He might have abandoned you to drift disowned and unpiloted on the rocks of destruction, joined to your idols! He might have "left you alone" to settle on your lees and forfeit your eternal bliss! But He loved you better. It was kindness--infinite kindness, which blighted your fairest blossoms, and hedged up your way with thorns! Trust His heart, when you cannot trace His hand! 

[John MacDuff] 

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

Revelation 3:19 ... As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Hebrews 12:6 ...  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

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

Daily Strength!

The Christian is frequently compared to a pilgrim, traveling onwards through a dreary wilderness, to the promised land of Canaan. His experience is varied and checkered. The path before him may be steep and arduous. He may have to pass through rough and stony places; dark, thick forests; rapid streams; and raging hurricanes. His days may be such, as to require great strength, and great energy, and great perseverance. Oftentimes, when he strives to anticipate the future his heart sinks within him, his courage fails, and he is apt to give way to despondency and doubt. 

But such a promise, "As your days, so shall your strength be," may well suffice to calm the believer's fears, and re-animate his fainting spirit. It is true, that changes and vicissitudes will come. It is true, that the heart which today is cheerful and happy, may tomorrow be wounded and bleeding. It is true, that the full cup, which is now held with gladness, may be dashed in pieces, before the lips have tasted the refreshing draught. It is true, that the bright hope which, like a guiding star, allures the traveler onwards, may speedily be enwrapped in pitch-black gloom. 

But to the child of God, there is a supply of strength to meet the hour of trial. He is not permitted to escape from the burden, or the cross, or the difficulty. But he is enabled to make his way through them all to struggle with, and finally to overcome them. Many a time, when the believer has been well near crushed under the oppressive weight; when, conscious that ordinary strength would not avail, he has cried unto the Lord and a fresh supply of grace has been given to meet the emergency. So that he could say with David, "I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along." (Psalm 40:1-2) 

It would be easy for God to make the path heavenward, plain and unobstructed to His children. It would be easy for Him to remove all care, anxiety, and sorrow. But such is not His purpose. Earth is the training school for Heaven. God wills that His children should be tried. He desires that their spiritual natures should be refined and purified in the furnace of affliction. And that thus, by the very struggles and pains of their earthly pilgrimage, they should become more and more fit for serving Him in this world, and more and more fit for the inheritance of the saints in light. The Christian by each difficulty he is called on to encounter; by each trial he is summoned to bear; by each virtue he is required to call into exercise becomes more vigorous, earnest, faithful, and Christlike. 

His soul is gradually training and strengthening by duty, trial, and endurance here for glory, honor, and immortality hereafter. Every fresh victory over pride, over the world, over avarice, over selfishness, over fretfulness, makes us stronger for the time to come, and ensures the fulfillment of the promise, "As your days, so shall your strength be." Christian! mark again these words. They do not pledge that we shall not feel the burden and heat of the day. All they promise, is that we shall get safely through. They do not say that we shall not feel the weight of our duties, trials, temptations, or conflicts. All they say, is that we shall have strength to bear their weight, and journey on with our load. The grace imparted, will then be "sufficient" for us sufficient for our actual necessities, sufficient strength equal to our day.  Strength to encounter the tempest will be given when the tempest rages. Strength to surmount the foaming surges will be given when the hurricane has actually come. Strength to grapple with the last enemy will be given when he comes forth to meet you. 

Yes Christian! Be assured that grace and strength will be imparted when you need them as certainly as they will be withheld before you need them. He who guides you, knows your necessities. In the day of trouble, He will not leave you comfortless. Journey on, then, with firmness, relying on His promise for needed grace and strength. You will, before long, enter into your final rest, and bid an eternal adieu to all your labors, and trials, and temptations. You will take possession of the promised glorious inheritance, and will then acknowledge with a grateful heart, "As my days, so has my strength been!" 

[John MacDuff] 

Deuteronomy 33:25 ... Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

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

The Consolations of Jesus!

There is not a wounded bosom on earth for which there is not Balm in Gilead, and a Physician there. Christ is "the God of all consolation." He has a remedy for every evil, an antidote for every sorrow, a cordial for every fainting heart, a hand of love to wipe every weeping eye, a heart of tenderness to sympathize with every sorrowful bosom, an arm of power to protect, a rod of love to chasten, immutable promises to encourage on earth, and an unfading crown of glory to bestow in Heaven! 

Jesus supplies strength, in the hour of weakness; courage, in the hour of danger; faith, in the hour of darkness; comfort, in the hour of sorrow; and victory, in the hour of death! What are the world's consolations in comparison to this? Test them in the times when they are most needed, and they will be found to be the first to give way. 

They are nothing but broken reeds, and the sport of every tempest that desolates the heart. The consolations of Jesus are those alone which are independent of all times, and circumstances, and vicissitudes. They avail alike in prosperity, and adversity, in joy, and sorrow, in health, and sickness, in life, and death! O tempest-tossed one, Jesus is your Balm! 

The drearier the desert, the sweeter and more refreshing are the streams of consolation of which He calls us to partake! 

[John MacDuff] 

 ✞   ✞   ✞  

Jeremiah 8:22 ...  Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

Matthew 11:28-30 ... Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. ❤

The True Spiritual Atlas!

Mark, it is soul-suffering that is the essence of Jesus' anguish. "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death." That 'cup' was filled to the brim with curses! His holy soul was like a vast reservoir, into which the transgressions of every elect child of Adam rushed from every age, demanding payment for sin. He was filled with horror and deep distress at the fearful havoc which sin had wrought, and at its dreadful penalty, which He was now bearing. 

The wrath of God, the horrendous manifestation of His displeasure at iniquity, was upon Jesus! He was the true spiritual Atlas, bearing on His shoulders, the sins of a guilty world. Jesus' sufferings were not calamities. They were a judicial punishment inflicted on Him by His Father for the sins of His people. There was an eternity of woe, condensed into His sufferings and sin-atoning death. Christ was the Sin-Bearer, bearing not merely the guilt and punishment of sin, but sin itself. 

 [John MacDuff] 

✞ ✞ ✞ 

Isaiah 53:5 ... But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

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.

Ephesians 5:2 ... And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. ❤

But The Choice is in Better Hands!

Moses asked to be shown the way. The way is not shown. But better than this, God says, "Trust Me, I will go with you!" 

Afflicted one! Hear this wilderness promise which God speaks to His spiritual Israel still. He who led His people of old "like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron," will manifest towards you the same Shepherd love. The way may be very different from what we would have wished; and what we would have chosen. But the choice is in better hands! 

God had His own wise and righteous ends, in every erratic turning in the wilderness wanderings. Just so, who can look back on the past leadings of God, without gratitude and thankfulness? When His sheep have been conducted to the rougher parts of the wilderness, He, their Shepherd, has been with them. When their fleece was torn, and they were footsore and weary, He has borne them in His arms. His presence has lightened every cross and sweetened every care. 

Let us trust Him for an unknown and checkered future! With Him for our portion, take what He will away we must be happy. We can rise above the loss of the earthly gift, in the consciousness of the nobler possession which we enjoy in the Great Bestower. He may have seen fit to level 'clay idols' that He, the "All Satisfying One" might reign paramount and supreme. 

He will not allow us to raise havens on earth, and to write upon them: "This is my rest." But "Fear not," He seems to say, "You are not left without a friend or without solace on the way home. Pilgrim in a pilgrim land! My presence shall go with you in all your dark and cloudy days, in your hours of faintness and depression, in all your sickness and sadness, in life and in death! 

And when the journey is ended, I will give you eternal rest with Me!" The pledge of Grace will be followed with the fruition of Glory! 

[John MacDuff]

Exodus 33:14 ... And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

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

Thank God for Hiding the Future!

There is no more gracious provision for our happiness, than what is contained in that brief saying of Scripture, "You do not know what will happen tomorrow!" James 4:14 

If we knew in full, in this grief-stricken world, all that would befall us in the future  how sad would existence be! It would leave even prosperity without a note of gladness; for the certainty of losing our blessings, would rob us of all their enjoyment while we retained them. And thus moments of unbounded pleasure, would be clouded with the dark characters of anticipated sorrow. How would the mother's joy be marred, as the object of her tender solicitude and affection was sporting by her side, or as she hung over the infant cradle if she could pry with certainty into the future, and read the mournful sequel of that little history the lingering sickness, the early grave, the blighted hopes, the desolated household, the broken heart. 

To know the future, would convert the few brief years of possession of her blessing, into consecutive hours of agony the consciousness and foreknowledge that every moment was drawing nearer the fatal one sitting by Time's sand-glass and marking grain by grain, as they dropped and fell, until the last grain of the diminishing heap announced, "The long-dreaded hour has arrived!" But, thank God that the future is veiled! The storm and coming wreck are concealed, in order that the calm of the present waveless sea may be enjoyed. Yes, we again say, thank God for hiding the future, and allowing us only to be conversant with the joys and sorrows of today. 

[John MacDuff] 

James 4:14 ... Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

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

Preparing a Place!!

What a wondrous thought! Jesus is now busied in Heaven in His people's behalf! He can find no abode in all His wide dominions, befitting as a permanent dwelling for His ransomed ones. 

He says, "I will make a new heaven and a new earth. I will found a special kingdom. I will rear eternal mansions expressly for those I have redeemed with my blood!" 

Orphaned pilgrims, dry your tears! Soon the sighs of a groaning and burdened creation will be heard no more. Soon He will come again, to receive those who followed Him in His cross, to be everlasting partakers with Him in His crown! 

[John MacDuff] 

 ✞  ✞  ✞ 

John 14:2-3 ... In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Philippians 1:21-23 ... For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:❤

What a Pillow on Which to Rest Your Aching Head

"If need be!" Three gracious words! Not one of all my tears has been shed for nothing! Not one stroke of the rod has been unneeded, or that might have been spared! Your heavenly Father loves you too much, and too tenderly, to bestow harsher correction than your case requires! Is it loss of health, or loss of wealth, or loss of beloved friends? Be still! there was a need be! 

We are no judges of what that "needs be" is. Often through aching hearts we are forced to exclaim, "Your judgments are a great deep!" But God here pledges Himself that there will not be one unnecessary thorn in the believer's crown of suffering! No burden too heavy will be laid on him. No sacrifice too great will be exacted from him. God will temper the wind to the shorn lamb. Whenever the "need be" has accomplished its end, then the rod is removed; the chastisement is suspended; the furnace is quenched. "If need be!" 

Oh! what a pillow on which to rest your aching head that there is not a drop in all your bitter cup but what a God of love saw to be absolutely necessary! Trust His loving heart even though you cannot trace His mysterious hand! Do not be too curious to be prying into the "Why it is?" or "How it is?" But satisfied that "So it is," and, therefore, that all must be well. 

[John MacDuff] 

 ✞  ✞ ✞

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

 John 13:7 ... sus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. ❤

Thank God for Hiding The Future!

There is no more gracious provision for our happiness, than what is contained in that brief saying of Scripture, "You do not know what will happen tomorrow!"  If we knew in full, in this grief-stricken world, all that would befall us in the future how sad would existence be! It would leave even prosperity without a note of gladness; for the certainty of losing our blessings, would rob us of all their enjoyment while we retained them. And thus, moments of unbounded pleasure, would be clouded with the dark characters of anticipated sorrow. 

How would the mother's joy be marred, as the object of her tender solicitude and affection was sporting by her side, or as she hung over the infant cradle if she could pry with certainty into the future and read the mournful sequel of that little history the lingering sickness, the early grave, the blighted hopes, the desolated household, the broken heart. To know the future, would convert the few brief years of possession of her blessing, into consecutive hours of agony the consciousness and foreknowledge that every moment was drawing nearer the fatal one sitting by Time's sandglass and marking grain by grain, as they dropped and fell, until the last grain of the diminishing heap announced, "The long-dreaded hour has arrived!" 

But thank God that the future is veiled! The storm and coming wreck are concealed, in order that the calm of the present waveless sea may be enjoyed. Yes, we again say, thank God for hiding the future, and allowing us only to be conversant with the joys and sorrows of today.

[John MacDuff]

James 4:14 ...  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. ❤

Immutability

The Unchangeableness of God. What an anchor for a storm tossed sea! Change is our portion here! Scenes are altering. Joys are fading. Friends! some of them are removed at a distance; others have gone to their 'long home'. Who, amid these checkered experiences, does not sigh for something permanent, stable, enduring? The vessel has again and again slipped its earthly moorings. 

We long for some secure and sheltered harbor. "I am the Lord, and I do not change!" Heart and flesh may faint; yes, do faint and fail. But there is an unfainting, unfailing, unvarying God. All the changes in the world around cannot affect Him. Our own fitfulness cannot alter Him. When we are depressed, downcast, fluctuating; our treacherous hearts turning aside "like a broken bow," He does not change. "God who cannot lie," is the superscription on His eternal throne; and inscribed on all His dealings. "I am the Lord, and I do not change!" This forms a blessed guarantee that nothing can befall me but what is for my good. I cannot doubt His faithfulness. 

I dare not arraign the rectitude of His dispensations. It is 'covenant love' which is now darkening my earthly horizon. This hour He is the same as when He "spared not His own Son!" Oh, instead of wondering at my trials, let me rather wonder that He has borne with me so long! It is because of the Lord's unchanging mercies that I am not consumed. Had He been man, changeful, vacillating, as myself, long before now would He have spurned me away, and consigned me to the doom of the cumberer.

[John MacDuff]

 

Malachi 3:6 ... For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. ❤

No One Else

O Eternal, Everlasting God, Fountain of all happiness, God of all grace--we desire to acknowledge anew with grateful hearts, Your undeserved mercies. You have made our cup to overflow with blessings. From the very threshold of our being, You have been our Protector and Guardian. You have shielded us from unknown dangers. You have warded off unseen calamities. No earthly friend could have loved us and cared for us, like You! 

[John MacDuff]

Jeremiah 31:3 ... The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. ❤

Restraining Grace

What a scene does this unfold! Satan tempting, Jesus praying! Satan sifting, Jesus pleading! "The strong man assailing", "the stronger than the strong" beating him back! 

 Believer! here is the past history and present secret of your safety in the midst of temptation! An interceding Savior was at your side, saying to every threatening wave, "Thus far shall you go and no farther!" God often permits His people to be on the very verge of the precipice, to remind them of their own weakness; but never farther than the brink! 

The restraining hand and grace of Omnipotence is ready to rescue them, "Although he stumbles yet he shall not be utterly cast down." And why? "For the Lord upholds him with His right hand!" The wolf may be prowling for his prey; but what can he do, when the almighty Shepherd is always there, tending with the watchful eye that "neither slumbers nor sleeps!" 

 Who cannot subscribe to the testimony, "When my foot slipped, Your mercy, O Lord, held me up!" Who can look back on his past pilgrimage, and fail to see it crowded with Ebenezer's, with this inscription: "You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling!" My soul, where would you have been this day had you not been "kept" by the power of God? 

 [John MacDuff]

Luke 22:31- 32 ... And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

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

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

The Omnipresence of God

The omnipresence of God! How baffling to any finite comprehension! To think that above us, and around us, and within us, there is Deity, the invisible footprints of an Omniscient, Omnipresent One! 

 "His Eyes are in every place!" On rolling planets and tiny atoms; on the bright seraph and the lowly worm; roaming in searching scrutiny through the tracks of immensity and reading the dark and hidden page of my heart! "All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do!"

[John MacDuff]

 Psalm 139:7 ... Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

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

Here is Heaven!

This promise of Jesus represents the future state of the glorified to consist not in locality, but in character; the essence of its bliss is the full vision and fruition of God. Our attention is called away from all vague and indefinite theories about the circumstantial of future happiness. The one grand object of contemplation, the "glory which excels," is the sight of God Himself! The one grand practical lesson enforced on His people is the cultivation of that purity of heart without which none could see, or (even could we suppose it possible to be admitted to see Him) none could enjoy God!

 [John MacDuff]

Matthew 5:8 ... Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. ❤

Numbered Hairs!!

What a promise is this! All that befalls you, to the very numbering of your hairs is known to God! Nothing can happen by accident or chance. Nothing can elude His inspection. The fall of the forest leaf, the fluttering of the insect, the waving of the angel's wing, the annihilation of a world all are equally noted by Him! Man speaks of great things and small things but God knows no such distinction. 

 [John MacDuff]

Matthew 10:29-31 ...  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. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

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

The Awful Tragedy of Calvary

Our Lord's earthly condition was one of extreme poverty. "The foxes had holes, and the birds of the air had nests, but the Son of man had nowhere to lay his head." Not merely did He assume our nature in its lowest form, but He endured opposition, indignities, and sufferings of every kind! His cheeks were smitten, His face was spat upon, His temples were pierced with prickly thorns, His back was ploughed with scourges, His hands and feet were fixed with iron spikes to the accursed tree, His burning thirst was tantalized with vinegar and gall, His last prayers were turned to ridicule, and His dying groans were converted into impious mockeries. Men reviled Him, Satan buffeted Him; and, in His last extremity, even God forsook Him! But He bore it all without a single murmur! 

The awful tragedy of Calvary, in all its circumstances of woe, stands in dread prominence above all that the annals of time have ever recorded. Many strange events had taken place before now, but never was there such an event as this! "The sun stopped shining!" (Luke 23:45.) In the past, the sun shone upon heart-rending spectacles in abundance but he veiled his face in mourning when the Prince of life expired! 

On the disastrous flood, on the burning cities of the plain, on the sea-sunk legions of Egypt, on the armies of Sennacherib prostrate beneath the angel's blast, he looked down, as it were, with bright indifference. But when the atoning Substitute was suspended on the cross, to gaze at such a spectacle unappalled, was impossible! 

 [John MacDuff]

Philippians 2:6-8 ... Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

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

Wash Me!!

O my God, I desire to approach the footstool of Your throne of grace. Glory be to Your holy name that I can enjoy freedom of access into Your presence, and with the confidence of Your child, unburden and un-bosom to You all my needs and sins, all my sorrows and infirmities,  all my perplexities and cares.

Lord, how unworthy I am of the least of all Your mercies! What righteous cause have You to cut me down as a cumberer of the ground. How cold my love, how infrequent my prayers! How full is my heart, of pride and vain-glory, self and sin! How little have I habitually realized Your nearness, and sought Your favor as my chief good! There is enough of coldness and formality in my best approaches to Your footstool, to lead You in Your wrath to spurn me forever away!

Let me see all my sin in the light of Calvary's cross!

[John MacDuff]

Hebrews 4:16 ... Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

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

The Choosing Place

The furnace of affliction! It is God's meeting place with His people. "I have chosen you," says He, "in the furnace of affliction. I will keep you there, until the purifying process is complete; and if need be, in a 'chariot of fire' I will carry you to heaven!"

Some fires are for destruction, but the furnace of affliction is for purification. He, the Refiner, is sitting by the furnace regulating the flames, tempering the heat; not the least filing of the gold but what is precious to Him! The bush is burning with fire, but He is in the middle of it; a living God in a bush; a living Savior in the furnace! And has this not been the method of His dealing with His redeemed people in every age.

First, trial then blessing. First, difficulties then deliverances. First, Egyptian plagues, darkness, brick kilns, the Red Sea, forty years of desert privations then Canaan! First, the burning fiery furnace then the vision of "one like the Son of God!" Or, as with Elijah on Carmel, the answer is first by fire and then by rain. First, the fiery trial then the gentle descent of the Spirit's influences, coming down like "rain upon the mown grass, and as showers that water the earth."

Believer! be it yours to ask, "Are my trials sanctified?" Are they making me holier, purer, better, more meek, more gentle, more heavenly-minded, more Savior-like? Seek to "glorify God in the fires." Patience is a grace which the angels cannot manifest.

Patience is a flower of earth: it does not bloom in Paradise; it requires tribulation for its exercise; it is nurtured only amid wind, and hail, and storm. By patient, unmurmuring submission, remember, you, a poor sinner, can thus magnify God in a way the loftiest angelic natures cannot do! His design is to purge away your dross, to bring you forth from the furnace reflecting His own image, and fitted for glory!

Those intended for great usefulness are much in the refining pot. "His children have found suffering times happy times. They never have such nearness to their Father, such holy freedom with Him, and such heavenly refreshment with Him as under the cross!"

[John MacDuff]

Isaiah 48:10 … Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.❤