Gems from October 2023
October 1
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4
I have not the thought of what we shall do in glory: my thought is, Christ will be there. I shall be in the place where everything is ruled by the mind of Christ.
Have you known down here the calming effect of realizing His presence, hearing Him
breathing out like oil on the waters, “It is I!” What will it be to be in a world where all is subject to Him who gives such peace even here! What will heaven be, when all that He is, all His perfect grace, will come out to us in the Father’s house!
What will it be where everything will be attuned to the name of Jesus! The full stream of His affections will flow over and spread blessing everywhere, “His fullness” (John 1:16) poured forth to fill every heart, and every heart perfectly filled and satisfied with it. Gleanings From the Teaching of G. V. Wigram
What will it be to dwell above, and with the Lord of glory reign, Since the blest knowledge of HIs love so brightens all this dreary plain? No heart can think, no tongue can tell what joy ‘twill be with Christ to dwell.
When left this scene of faith and strife, the flesh and sense deceive no more, When we shall see the Prince of life, and all His works of grace explore: What heights and depths of love divine will there through endless ages shine!
And God has fixed the happy day when the last tear shall dim our eyes; When He will wipe these tears away, and fill our hearts with glad surprise; To hear His voice, and see His face, and know the fullness of His grace.
J. Swain - 1792
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Hast Thou considered My servant Job. Job 1:8
Job, a wealthy Oriental sheik, lived in the days before the knowledge of God had been lost, though it is evident that idolatry, particularly the worship of the heavenly bodies, already had supplanted in places the older worship. For, be it remembered, paganism is not a step upward in the evolution of religion.
It is rather a declension, as Romans 1 shows us. Men turned from the living and true God to these vain idols, and “for this cause God gave them up“ (Romans 1:26) to all sorts of unclean practices. But Job had escaped all this. He was perfect in his behaviour, upright in all his ways, one who reverenced God and detested iniquity.
In chapters 1 and 2, we get a remarkable revelation of things in the unseen world. Job is the subject of a conversation between God and Satan, “the accuser of the brethren.” (Revelation 12:10) who accuses them before God day and night. The Lord challenges Satan, “Hast thou considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth…one that feareth God, and eschewth evil? (blameless and upright) (Job 1:8)
Note, Job was all that God said he was—a man of faith, a true child of God. This book gives us, then, not the repentance of a sinner, but the repentance of a saint.
Satan denies the truthfulness of the divine estimate of Job and particularly declares that Job does not love and reverence the Lord for what He is in Himself, but for what Job receives at His hand.
To prove the contrary, the devil is permitted to wrest from the patriarch all that he possessed. Instead of renouncing God, Job exclaims, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).Thus far Satan is defeated, but he is relentless. “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10) He glorifies God in the fires. Satan is defeated. Job is loyal and loves God for Himself alone, and not simply for His gifts.
It is a marvellous thing thus to find one to whom God means more than all earthly possessions, yes, than life itself. Unless You Repent - H. A. Ironside
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For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
How wondrous the glories that meet in Jesus, and from His face shine. His love is eternal and sweet; ‘tis human, ‘tis also divine!
His glory—not only God’s Son—in manhood He had His full part— And the union of both joined in one forms the fountain of love in His heart. Robert Hawker
It was love, divine, precious, unspeakable love that led Him to die for us on that accursed tree, and, if you believe on Him, you have eternal life through His death. I say receive it, believe it. You may tell me you cannot understand it. No, but what I cannot understand I can believe, what I cannot fathom I can swim in, what I cannot comprehend I can enjoy I know that God’s Son has died for me, and I know that the source of all blessing is in His perfect love.
Could I with ink the ocean fill, were every blade of grass a quill, Were the whole heaven of parchment made, and every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.
F. M. Lehman
Think of being loved by God after such a sort, and yet not believing it. Believe it now, my friend and you will have everlasting life. But you tell me, I do not know for whom this everlasting life is. The answer is here: it is for “whosoever believeth in Him.” Believing in Jesus, you shall not perish, but have everlasting life. You will be brought into everlasting blessing, in association with the Son of God.
What you have to do is to trust Him, bow down your heart to Him, and then confess Him. That is the way of salvation. For it is added, “God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17) Night Scenes of Scripture - W. T. P. Wolston
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Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
Our Lord’s desire, because of His wondrous salvation, which we as Christians possess, can also dismiss our fears because of the revelation of the many mansions (v2), and our assured arrival there (V3); of Him Who is “the way” Home (v.6); of the unveiling of God in the person of our Lord (v.9); of the works which we shall do as we pass through this world of sorrow (v12).
Of the abiding companionship of the Comforter (v16); of the fact that the Triune God, by His spirit, now indwells us (vs.17and 23); and likewise the fact that He promised to keep, in unbroken serenity, the heart that is stayed on Him (v.27);
Thou wilt keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusted in Thee.” (Isaiah 26:3)
Light that groweth not pale with day’s decrease,
Love that never shall cease,
Joy no sorrow can mar,
Hope that shineth afar,
Faith serene as a star,
And Christ’s own peace. H. Durbanville
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Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead. Revelation 1:5
The Creator-God cannot die, but He stepped into manhood in order to die for God’s glory, as the whole human race had dishonoured Him. The Lord Jesus entered the world He had created, where “All have sinned (Romans 3:23) and the whole creation suffers (v.8:22), but He honoured God. He also came to die—once the appointed time had come—as the ultimate Sacrifice to glorify God and for our salvation.
Luke put all these things in their actual historic and geographic context. He told how the Saviour-God came into the world at that exact time, born in the city of David, Bethlehem, meaning ”house of Bread,” for He is “the Bread of life”
(John 6:35).
The virgin Mary was betrothed to marry Joseph, still a virgin, with child, through the work of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). When the day had come, “she brought forth her firstborn Son”.
Jesus is to be “the Firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). Today, all true believers belong to the family of Him who is “The Image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of every creature.” (Colossians 1:15) As “Firstborn from the dead,” He is linked with all who belong to the new creation (Colossians 1:18). Soon God will introduce Him as “the first begotten of the dead.” (Revelation 1:5) to rule over the universe.
What a privilege to be identified with Him. Praise be to Him forever! Alfred E. Bouter
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David said…The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed.
1 Samuel 26:11
Saul says: ”I have sinned…I will no more do thee harm…I have acted foolishly, and have erred exceedingly.” (v21)
How many times had he not already said or acknowledged that this was so? Did that change his ways in the least? Often we allow ourselves to be deceived by
appearances when it is a matter of appreciating the condition of souls. David is not fooled. He confides in God alone and not at all in Saul’s feelings. He returns his weapons to him, knowing that Saul can do nothing without God’s will.
The king’s life had been precious to David, but David does not count on his life being precious to Saul. And, behold, as thy life was highly esteemed this day in mine eyes, so let my life be highly esteemed in the eyes of the Lord. (v24) He counts on the Lord.
The life of David, a flea, a partridge on the mountain. (v20), is of great price in the eyes of Him who had chosen him, called him, and kept him as the apple of His eye. Thus God glorifies Himself in those who are little and weak.
1 Samuel - Dr. Henri L. Rossier
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He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away.” Luke 1:52-53
These words of Mary have an ever-present application. This is the same levelling doctrine as that proclaimed by John the Baptist. It is the “no difference” doctrine of the apostle Paul . “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). Yet how the human heart rebels against it. How men pride themselves on fancied distinctions which God’s eye does not discern.
“Must I be saved in the same way as my coachman?” indignantly asked a distinguished lady.
“Madam,” was the faithful reply. “you do not need to be saved at all. But if you ever are saved, it will be on exactly the same ground as any other poor sinner.”
Years ago, I was amazed to hear an eloquent French evangelist, Paul J. Loizeaux, exclaim, “Oh, how hard it is to find sinners! If only I could find one, I have a marvellous message for him.” A moment’s thought made his meaning clear. To be a sinner is one thing; to know it is another. Except You Repent - H. A. Ironside
Suffer a sinner whose heart overflows, loving his Saviour to tell what he knows;
Once more to tell it would I embrace—I’m only a sinner saved by grace.
James Gray
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I pray before Thee now, day and night. Nehemiah 1:6
No man is greater than his prayer life. It was said of Edwin Payson, “Prayer was preeminently the business of his life.” George Whitfield said, “Whole days have I spent prostrate in prayer.”
A friend of Tersteegen commented, “It seemed to me as if he had gone straight into
heaven while he prayed.”
I often say my prayers, but do I really pray?
And do the wishes of my heart go with the words I say? J. Burton
Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22
James Martinaeu said that Christianity was “no more possible without prayer than poetry without language, or music without atmosphere.”
And Oxtavius Winslow adds,”Prayer is the pulse of the renewed soul: and the constancy of its beat is the best test and measure of the spiritual life.”
O Thou by Whom we come to God the Life, the Truth, the Way The path of prayer Thyself hast trod Lord, teach us how to pray.
James Montgomery
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Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7
Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth and song;
As the burdens press, and the cares distress, And the way grows weary and long?
O yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long night dreary, I know my Saviour cares.
Does Jesus care when my way is dark with a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades, does He care enough to be near?
Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed to resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief, though my tears flow all the night long?
Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye” to the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks, is it aught to Him? Does He see?
Frank E. Graeff
Mr. Greaff wrote more than two hundred hymns in his lifetime, but none has been more consoling to God’s people than this text.
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As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you. 1 Samuel 12:23 .
Whoever ceases to pray for one he loves, fails in the most sacred duty of love, because he withholds love’s best help. It is pleasant to think that we can render this best of all services for others even when we are unable to do any work on their behalf.
A “shut-in” who can run no errands and lift no burdens, and speak no words of cheer to busy toilers and sore strugglers in the great world, can yet pray for them, and God will send them truest help! J. R. Miller
Yes, pray for those you love. If uncounted wealth were thine,
The treasure of the boundless deep, the riches of the mine,
You could not to your cherished friends a gift so dear impart,
As the earnest benediction of a deeply prayerful heart.
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Teach us to pray. Luke 11:1
We should pray in the spirit of the prophet Daniel. Not only did he come down to the level of the people of Israel when he said, “We have sinned,”but he also lifted them up with himself to God in repentance and supplication and when he said, “We . . . present our supplication before Thee” (Daniel 9:8,18).
Daniel was praying alone. He was able to lift the nation of Israel into the presence of God in his intercessions. This was the turning point of Judah’s captivity. From that moment the wisdom and power of God wrought for their recovery. What results the supplication of one person may accomplish!
O Thou by Whom we come to God, the Life, the Truth, the Way!
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod teach us how to pray! Selected
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Broken Pieces
Matt. 14:20 “Fragments” Mark 6:43 “Fragments”
Luke 9:17 “Fragments” John 6:12 “Fragments”
Have you ever felt at the end of the day that you had nothing to offer bur “broken pieces” of things? In the morning we put our day in our Lord’s hands. Then we begin to do His work, but we are not able to do nearly as much as we had hoped.
Interruptions came and broke up our plans, and the evening finds us a little disappointed. “I hoped to do so much, and I have done nothing worth bringing to Thee”—that is how we feel.
I have been finding new comfort in the two words which are used by each of the four evangelists in telling the end of the story of the feeding of the Five Thousand. they speak of “broken pieces”, and the same words are used by two in telling of the later miracle. (Matthew 15:37 and Mark 8:8)
There was nothing over but “broken pieces”, and yet of those fragments our Lord said, “Gather them up that nothing be lost” (John 6:12). Even so, our dear Lord cares for, the broken pieces of our lives, the fragments of all we meant to do, the little that we have to gather up and offer, and He will use even these fragments. He will not let even the least of our little broken things be lost. Amy Carmichael
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Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10
Heaven will be when I have entirely forgotten myself, and am filled with God. That very same love which will fill heaven was manifested in the cross; for there it put all my sins away, and in heaven there are none.
I want something on which my soul may be stayed. Well, God loves me; and that which makes me know how much He loves me is, that He gave His Son for me. Then, as my soul rests upon this love of God, no measure of failure can be adequate to shake my confidence, as I estimate God’s love in the gift of His Son.
The enjoyment of this love is another thing, and that is carried on by the daily and hourly communion with God as our Father, by the Spirit in us.
Close to Thy trusted side, in fellowship divine;
No cloud, no distance, e’er shall hide, glories that then shall shine.
Fruit of Thy boundless love, that gave Thyself for us;
Forever we shall with Thee prove that Thou still lov’st us thus.
We wait to see Thee, Lord, yet now within our hearts
Thou dwell’st in love that doth afford the joy that love imparts.
J. N. Darby
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The Three Sieves
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? Either a vine, figs?
James 3:12
All of us who have tried to remember these three sieves, and have used them, know what a help they are. We are sorry when we ever forget them, and we are very grateful when we are reminded of them in time to keep us from saying something untrue, unkind, or unnecessary.
Sometimes when I listen to hymn-singing I think of the words about the fig tree and the vine and the fountain. “Can the fig tree . . . bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.” Can the lips which have sung these beautiful loving words speak those other words? But they sometimes do.
Perhaps these three sieves will help to keep some words from being spoken that would grieve the Spirit of love and hurt someone whom our Lord loves.
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
The three sieves are only useful for keeping wrong words from being spoken. They do not give us right words. Love can fill the cup so full of love, that nothing can come out but love. Amy Carmichael
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And Nathan said to David. . .Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and has slain him with the sword . . . And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, the LORD also hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die.
(2 Samuel 12:7,9,13)
Here we come to the great distinction between the grace of God, and the government of God. Penally, David’s sin was forgiven as soon as he truly confessed it (v.13) and we find him afterwards rejoicing in the knowledge of that blessed fact (Psalm 32:1, 103:12) But governmentally, the consequences remained.
For, it must be remembered that when it is a question of government, a sin is not necessarily done with, even when it is confessed. The principle laid down in Galatians 6. 7,8 applies to Christians as well as to unconverted men: indeed the words were written primarily to children of God. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Heaven’s Cure for Earth’s Care
Child of God, by Christ’s salvation, rise o’er sin and fear and care—
Joy to find in every station something still to do or bear;
Think what Spirit dwells within you—think what Father’s smiles are yours—
Think that Jesus died to win you—He for you has opened doors.
Mrs. McKay
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God sent me (Joseph) before you (his brothers) to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save lives by a great deliverance. Genesis 45:7
The last scene in the history of Joseph manifests that his brothers had no true knowledge of the heart of Joseph and therefore no real confidence in him. Joseph had saved their lives; he had put them in possession of “the best of the land of Egypt, and he had nourished them with bread (47:12). For 17 years they had been the recipients of Joseph’s bounty, and the special objects of his loving care, and yet when a crisis arises—it becomes manifest that they have no personal knowledge of Joseph. (50:15-21)
They know something of his greatness and glory, they know the great work he has accomplished, they know that every blessing they enjoy is owing to his position and work, but they had no personal acquaintance with his mind and heart. It is as if they said, “We know what he has done for us, but we do not know how he feels about us.
And not knowing his mind, when the crisis arises it becomes manifest that they have no confidence in him, with the result that they conclude that he will think and act towards them according to the way they had thought and acted towards him.
They remember that when Joseph was but a lad of seventeen, “they hated him”, now they conclude “Joseph will hate us.” Conscience recalls how wickedly they had acted to Joseph and now they say “he will certainly requite us all the evil we did unto him.” They judge his thoughts by their thoughts, his heart by their hearts and his acts by their acts.
Are we Christians today often like Joseph’s brethren? We know something of the glory of the Person of Christ, of the benefits that flow from His finished work on the cross, but when some crisis arises it becomes manifest how little we know of His heart, and therefore what little confidence we have in Him. The result is that in the presence of some trial we are, like Joseph’s brethren, greatly distressed in soul.
There has been great zeal to acquire knowledge of the Scriptures, but personal acquaintance with the Lord has not been sought after—not only knowing what He has done for us but also how He feels about us. Joseph - Hamilton Smith
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Let us go unto perfection. Hebrews 6:1
PROGRESS
Blest Saviour, keep our spirits stayed, Hard following after Thee, Till we, in robes of white arrayed, Thy face in glory see. J. G. Deck
I believe the one great hindrance to our progress is the limited measure of our desire and preparation. We often think that we are wishing for and ready for much more than we are. We always get what we value.
It is very helpful to see in Ephesians 4:14-15 that if you were well grown you would not be “tossed to and fro,” The higher you go the safer you are—a fine principle, hence Satan would prevent us from going to the top.
I think many do not habituate themselves to sitting before the Lord. One does not appear to be doing anything, and yet that is the very time in which the peculiar lines of His mind and pleasure for one are acquired.
I believe the practical difficulty with us all is to say—not Adam in any form or quality but Christ liveth in me! Galatians 2:20). . . Every believer likes to advance himself spiritually, but hardly anyone likes to exchange himself for another Man.
Learning is very real work, and there is no maturing without it, and I do not believe that anyone matures brilliantly who does not learn sufferingly. Easily got, easily gone, was never so corroborated as in the highest things.
I am quite sure that if there were more breaking of heart to know more of the Lord wondrous disclosures would be made to us. The great thing we need for progress is restfulness of heart. Footprints for Pilgrims - J. N. Darby
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Impressions
See then that ye walk circumspectly, [carefully] not as fools, but as wise. Ephesians 5:15
A father and his little boy had been enjoying a day at the beach. As they began to prepare to leave, the boy got up from the sand where he had been lying. Looking down at the beach he said, “Look Daddy, you see me in the sand!”
“You sure can!” answered his Dad. You left quite an impression there.” “What’s a ‘pression’, Daddy?” asked the puzzled little boy. “It’s that place in the sand where we see a mark where you were lying. It’s just the footprints you leave in the sand. Also its kind of like the impression you left in Mr. Green’s new cement sidewalk.“You mean my handprint?” he asked Dad.
“Well, yes but I was thinking of another kind of impression you left with Mr Green. You left an impression on his mind.” “Is Mr. Green’s brain made of cement too?” “No,” laughed Dad, “but you left an impression on his memory—a bad impression. Every time Mr. Green walks out the door he sees your hand print right there in his sidewalk. I’m pretty sure that’s an impression of you he gets every day, son.”
But Daddy I wanted to do something good. Mr. Green is always crabby and acts mad. I thought if he saw my hand in his sidewalk waving ‘hi’ every morning he would be happy!”
Believers are a bit more like this dear little boy than we might care to admit. Our conduct often leaves unintended impressions on the minds of others. Our acts and our words are carefully watched by unbelievers—often by those who are looking to find fault with Christians that try to live their faith. How we need the wisdom found in James 3:17 as our daily guide: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, yielding, full of mercy and good fruits, unquestioning, unfeigned” (JND Trans.)
Conduct the world engages in, often revealing in such actions, is quickly rebuked when observed in those who bear the name of Christ.. “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22) is a divine command that every believer desiring to honour the Lord must diligently follow.
Doug Nicolet - The Christian Shepherd - December 2007
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But doThou for me, O God the Lord, for Thy name’s sake: because Thy mercy is good, deliver Thou me. Psalm 109:21
The Psalmist does not say what he wanted God to do for him. So this most restful prayer is left open for all perplexed hearts to appropriate according to their necessities.
We leave it open for God to fill up in His own way. Only a trusting heart can pray this prayer; the very utterance of it is an act of faith. We could not ask anyone we didn’t know intimately and trust implicitly to do for us without even suggesting what.
Through waves, through clouds and storms,
God gently clears the way;
We wait His time; so shall the night
Soon end in blissful day.
We leave it to Himself
To chose and to command;
With wonder filled, we soon shall see
How wise, how strong His hand.
Charles Wesley
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There is therefore now no condemnation to those which are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1
Have you ever got hold of the wonderful truth of being in Christ Jesus? ”For there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Why? because there is nothing left to condemn. “Well,” you say,”that is a bold statement.” I do not deny it, for I know the blessedness and joy of it! There is nothing left to condemn—if you are in Christ Jesus.
The truth of the gospel is this, that when the Lord Jesus was upon the cross, not only was He bearing our sins, but He was there made sin by God, and stood identified with all that the first man (Adam) was, and underwent the judgment of God upon the first man. The history of the first man terminated before God and for faith in the death of the Second man (Jesus). Everything was condemned in the cross, and now there is no condemnation left, nothing left to condemn.
God has not made light of sin. Christ has borne our sins, and put them away, but more, He has been made sin, and gone down into the depth of the judgment due to sin, and risen up from those depths. He has become my life; I am in Him, and therefore in all the impossibility of condemnation for Him. Sin in the flesh has not been forgiven. God condemned it. God never forgives sin. He forgives sinners, and pardons sins, blotting them out in Christ’s blood, but the evil principle of sin—sin in the flesh— can only end in judgment.
If you are a believer, you are in Christ before God, and hence there is no condemnation, because your very place is in the One who has come out of, and left behind, in the judgment He came out of, all that pertained to your sins and you. And is He going to condemn those for whom He died, for whom He agonized, and for whom He Himself was condemned? Never! Blessed be His peerless name! We may well say, Hallelujah! Dr. W. T. P. Wolston.
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“IT IS FINISHED'“
It is finished. John 19:30
Precious words that released young Hudson Taylor from years of doubt and striving! While reading a tract his eye caught the words, “The finished work of Christ.” He had known for years of the atoning work of Christ, but for the first time he saw that if it were a finished work there was nothing for him to do but accept it and praise God forever.
God has taken care of everything in Christ. My sins, my salvation, my life, my past and present and future, all my needs and the needs of the whole world, all are wrapped up in a finished work. If God has taken care of everything I do not need to try to take care of anything. I have only to believe, receive, rejoice, and then out of the fulness of my heart love and obey Him.
No matter what comes up, there is provision for it in Christ. And when we find that everything is in Jesus, He becomes to us everything!
“Finished”—not something with ragged edges and frazzled ends that I must piece out. God has taken care of everything forever in Christ. And we are complete in Him. Day by Day - Vance Havner
Nothing either great or small nothing sinner, no
Jesus died and paid it all long, long ago.
When He from His lofty throne stooped to do and die
Everything was fully done, hearken to His cry.
“It is finished!” yes, indeed, finished every jot:
Sinner, this is all you need—tell me is it not? James Proctor
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The Lord Knoweth:
Them that are His (2 Timothy 2:19);
His own sheep (John 10:14);
Them that trust in Him (Nahum 1:7);
What we need (Matthew 6:32);
The way I take (Job 23:10);
Our frame (Psalm 103:14);
How to deliver (2 Peter 2:9).
We Know:
That the Son of God is come (1 John 5:20);
That our Redeemer lives (Job 19:25);
Whom we have believed (2 Timothy 1:12);
That we have eternal life (1 John 5:13);
That all things work together for good (Romans 8:28);
That we have an eternal Home (2 Corinthians 5:1);
That we shall be like Him (1 John 3:2).
The Wonderful Word - George Henderson
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My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.
Job 17:11
Mine heart within me is broken. Jeremiah 23:9
Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings. Malachi 4:2
He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. Psalm 147:3
My every wound to Thee I take to heal, for Thou art touched with every pang I feel;
O Friend of friends—the faithful, true and tried—in Thee, and Thee alone, I now confide.
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a Friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Saviour still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer. Do thy friends despise, forsake Thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In HIs arms He’ll take and shield thee; Thou will find a solace there.
Joseph M. Scriven
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But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
We are bound to have our days of rain, our times of tears, our hours of disappointment. There are bound to be blustery storms of testing, counter air-currents of frustration, and nights of darkness.
But through them all, in them all, our Father is always there. He does not desert us. He does not abandon us. He is at work in the environment of our lives, persistent in pressing in upon us in ways we do not always see, much less understand.
In these difficult, grievous, heavy times He expects that we shall simply settle down quietly upon the shore of His great grace and wait patiently for Him. He does not call us to beat our way with flashing wings and spent bodies against the storms of life. He does not ask us to fight the adverse winds in fury.
He simply tells us that those who wait upon the Lord, who wait for the weather to change, who wait for Him to alter the environment, will mount up with wings refreshed. They shall fly and not grow weary, borne aloft on the fresh updrafts of His faithfulness.
For, our Father is true to His children. Just as the sun will shine again after the storms have swept the beach, so the rising power of Christ’s presence will again warm the shore of my soul. The uplifting wind of His Spirit will once more bear up my spirit. Again I shall soar in strength and beauty. Songs of My Soul - Phillip Keller
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He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Hebrews 10:37
Even so, come Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20
O joyful day! O glorious hour! when Jesus, by almighty power, Revived and left the grave; in all His works behold Him great, Before, almighty to create, almighty now to save!
The first begotten from the dead, He’s risen now, His people’s head, And thus their life’s secure; and if, like Him, they yield their breathe, Like Him they’ll burst the bonds of death, their resurrection sure.
Why should His people, then, be sad? none have such reason to be glad As those redeemed to God: Jesus, the mighty Saviour, lives, To them eternal life He gives, the purchase of His blood.
Then let our gladsome praise resound, and let us in His work abound, Whose blessèd name is Love; we’re sure our labour’s not in vain, For we with Him ere long shall reign—with Jesus dwell above. T. Kelly
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“They shall still bring forth fruit in old age.”
Psalm 92:14
Some of the fruits of the Spirit seem to be especially and peculiarly characteristic of sanctified older years; and do we not want to bring them all forth? Look at the splendid ripeness of Abraham’s faith in his old age; the grandeur of Moses’ meekness, when, he went up the mountain alone to die; the mellowness of Paul’s joy in his later epistles; and the wonderful gentleness of John, which makes us almost forget his early character of “a son of thunder,” wanting to call down God’s lightnings of wrath.
The same Spirit is given to us, that we too may bring forth fruit that may abound, and always more fruit.
The brightest of all: “Even to your old age, I am He; always the same Jehovah-Jesus; with us all the days, bearing and carrying us “all the days;” reiterating His promise—”even to hoar hairs will I carry you…; even I will carry and will deliver you, just as He carried the lambs in His bosom. For we shall always be His little children, and doubtless He will always be our Father. The rush of years cannot touch this!
Fear not the westering shadows, O Children of the Day! For brighter still and brighter, shall be your homeward way.
Resplendent as the morning, with fuller glow and power, And clearer than the noonday, shall be your evening hour.
Royal Bounty - Francis Ridley Havergal
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He made as though He would have gone further.
Luke 24:28
How perfect that little movement was! What title had He, a Stranger as He seemed to be, to intrude Himself on them? He had only joined them by the way, in the courtesy of one who was traveling the same road. What right had such a one to cross their threshold?
If Jesus be but a Stranger in our eyes, He will still walk outside. Till we know Him as the Saviour, the Lover of our souls, surely He asks for nothing. We may dwell in our own houses, and furnish our own tables, till then.
But when He is known by us as the Son of God Who has loved us and given Himself for us, then He claims a place in our hearts and our homes; and then will He dwell with us and sup with us (Revelation 3:20) as it were, unbidden; entering, in the person of some of His little ones, either to get a cup of cold water, or to have the feet washed, at moments when, perhaps, we looked not for Him.
The Gospel by Luke - J. G. Bellett
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Little Prayers
Lord Jesus receive my spirit. Acts 7:59
Sometimes we are very much disappointed with ourselves because we cannot pray proper prayers, only little ones that hardly seem to be prayers at all. I have been finding much comfort in the little prayers of the gospels. They could not be more little.
There was Peter’s, “Lord, save me”, (Matthew 14:30), and the poor mother’s, “Lord, help me”; (Matthew 15:25) and sometimes even less, no prayer at all but only the briefest telling of the trouble, “My servant lieth at home sick”; and less than that, a thought, and a touch, (Matthew 8:6); “She said within herself, If I may but touch. . .” (Matthew 9:21).
Again we hear of just a feeling, “They were troubled”, and a cry “They cried out for fear”—that was all, but it was enough. (Matthew 14:26).
Often in the throng of the day’s work and warfare, there will not be time for more than a very little prayer—a thought, a touch, a feeling, a cry—but it is enough; so tender, so near, is the love of our Lord. Edges of His Ways
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Give ear to my prayer, O God. Psalm 55:1
I will call upon God: and the Lord shall save me.
Psalm 55:16
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. Psalm 5:22
Prayer is prayer, whether it comes from the weak or the strong. It is not so much the heart or the lip from which it comes, though the heart must be clean and the lip sincere. It is the Ear to which it goes which is the great thing.
When God inlines the heart to pray,
He hath an ear to hear;
To Him there’s music in a groan,
And beauty in a tear.
The humble seeker cannot fail
To have his needs supplied,
Since He for sinners intercedes,
Who once for sinners died.
Benjamin Beddome
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Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart
from it. (Proverbs 22:6)
I had the inestimable privilege of being brought up in a Christian home. I feel sure the well-being of a nation lies in the proportion of Christian mothers it possesses. The mind of a child is plastic, and takes impressions for good or evil at a very early age. One may and does forget a good deal of what was learned at a mother’s knee, but the impression lasts through life, and cannot be thrown off.
Many a young fellow has broken loose from the restraints of a Christian home, who in the end found early impressions too insistent to be disregarded, and lived to thank God for the prayers and training of a Christian mother. When I was only eleven years old I made a profession of faith in Christ. Looking back it was a very feeble and shallow start that was made. As I grew up to manhood many a time I was tempted to give up the profession of Christianity, but something held me back.
Infidel doubts assailed me. Any attack on the Bible distressed me and shook my confidence. Such questions as, Why does God allow evil? Why does He allow the devil to work such mischief in the world? Why was I born in sin and shaped in iniquity? crowded into my mind and shook my foundations. But all this only in the end led me to take a stronger hold on Christ as my Saviour.
It is said that a young sapling gets firmer hold of the soil as the result of fierce winds loosening the roots. When the storm is over, the loosened roots have room to push farther out, and take a firmer grip. The life and safety of a tree lie in the fact that there is as much out of sight below the surface as there is above ground. The taller the tree the longer and more far-reaching the roots.
So it is with the Christian. Nothing will stand the assault of the enemy save a true heart-knowledge of the Lord as Saviour, a true faith-grip of the Gospel of the grace of God. There must be an out-of-sight hold on divine realities before there can be effective Christian life and testimony. Why I Believe The Bible - A. J. Pollock
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Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be? 2 Peter 3:11
Then whose shall those things be? Luke 12:20
We live in an age of “things”. We strive to obtain necessities and luxuries that will bring us personal comfort and assure compliments from our friends. Tragically, we can only be certain of two facts regarding “things”. We will leave them behind for others, and they will ultimately be dissolved. May the Lord help us to desire Himself, not “things”. Arnot P. McIntee
Is there a thing beneath the sun,
That strives with Thee, my heart to share?
O, tear it thence and reign alone,
The Lord of every object there. — Charles Wesley
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These words . . . shall be in thine heart . . . bind them for a sign upon thine hand . . . as frontlets between thine eyes. Deuteronomy 6:6,8.
Israelites bound pouches containing specific portions of God’s Word to their foreheads and hands, literally indicating that His words of wisdom were at the forefront of every thought and that His words would strengthen their hands for the day’s labour.
Our mouth is not only for food, but for the spiritual nutrition of His sustaining Word.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4).
Bound to our fingers, His words help us manipulate life’s complexities. “Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.” Proverbs 7:3 and at our feet they illuminate our walk. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105).
The Scriptures should be no empty word for us but our every life. “Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify upon you. (Deuteronomy 32:46).” A daily read is a must!
Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life;
Let me more of Thy beauty see wonderful words of life,
Philip Bliss
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That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. Philippians 3:10
Hudson Taylor stopped at no sacrifice in following Christ. “Cross-loving men are needed,” he wrote in the midst of his labours in China, and if he could speak to us today would it not be to call us to the highest of all ambitions; “That I may know Him [the One we, too, supremely love], and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.” Can we not hear again the tones of His quiet voice as He says:
“There is a needs be for us to give ourselves for the life of the world. An easy, non-self-denying life will never be one of power. Fruit-bearing in-and feeding upon the Word through which He reveals Himself to the waiting soul.”
It was not easy for Mr. Taylor, in his changeful life, to make time for prayer and Bible study, but he knew that it was vital. Well do the writers remember traveling with him month after month in Northern China, by cart and wheelbarrow, with the poorest of inns at night.
Often with only one large room for coolies and travellers alike, they would screen off a corner for their father and another for themselves, with curtains of some sort; and then, after sleep at last had brought a measure of quiet, they would hear a match struck and see the flicker of candlelight which told that Mr. Taylor, however weary, was pouring over the little Bible in two volumes always at hand. From two to four A. M. was the time he usually gave to prayer; the time when he could be most sure of being undisturbed to wait upon God. That flicker of candlelight has meant more to them than all they have read or heard on secret prayer; it meant reality, not preaching but practise.
The hardest part of a missionary career, Mr. Taylor found, is to maintain regular, prayerful Bible study. “Satan will always find you something to do,”he would say, “When you ought to be occupied about that, if it is only arranging a window blind. Take time. Give God time to reveal Himself to you. Take time to read His Word as in His presence, that from it you may know what He asks of you and what He promise you.” Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret
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Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
Song of Solomon 2:15
As I set traps for the little foxes, so now I have to judge in myself anything that would hinder fellowship with Him, that would hinder my spiritual growth.
What are the little foxes that spoil the vine? I can tell you a good many. There are the little foxes of vanity, of pride, of envy, of evil speaking, of impurity (I think this though is a wolf instead of a little fox).
Then there are the little foxes of carelessness, of neglect of the Bible, of neglect of prayer, of neglect of fellowship with the people of God. These are the things that spoil the vine, that hinder spiritual growth. Deal with them in the light of the cross of Christ; put them to death before they ruin your Christian experience, do not give them any place.
Song of Solomon - H. A. Ironside
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He Humbled Himself
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5-8
He that is down need fear no fall:
He that is low, no pride.
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide.
Pilgrim’s progress by J. Bunyan
Wouldst thou be great, then lowly serve;
Wouldest thou go up, go down;
But go as low as e’er you will,
The Highest has gone lower still.
Author Unknown
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posted by soundwords at
October 01, 2023
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