“A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17 If I may use the expression, we want not a dead but a living, not an absent but a present, not a once but a now Jesus; we want a friend at the right hand of God at the present … Read more
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2 What Christ is to the Church, what the Church is to Christ, can … Read more
“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:30, 31 Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. God has made Christ all these to his people. … Read more
“O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon thee.” 2 Chronicles 20:12 Jehoshaphat did not know what to do; he was altogether at his wit’s end; and yet he took the … Read more
“I have poured out my soul before the Lord.” 1 Samuel 1:15 How much there is in that expression pouring out the soul before the Lord! Shall I use a familiar figure to illustrate it, as sometimes familiar figures are best adapted to that purpose? Look at a sack of corn; you know, when the … Read more
“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” James 1:18 If we look at the work of the Spirit on the heart, we shall see how, in all his sacred dealings and gracious movements, he invariably employs truth as his … Read more
“Lead me in thy truth, and teach me.” Psalm 25:5 By what steps do we usually embrace the truth as it is in Jesus? First of all, for the most part, we receive it as a doctrine; the judgment being more or less informed, the eyes of the understanding being enlightened to see it in … Read more
“Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?” Jeremiah 15:12 You see that the Lord, when he is pointing out the trials his people are passing through, compares them to “iron.” He does not diminish their weight; he does not at all lower their oppressive tendency. But, then, in order to administer a suitable … Read more
“But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light; for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.” Ephesians 5:13 Feeling is the first evidence of supernatural life; a feeling compounded of two distinct sensations, one referring to God, and the other referring to self. The same ray of light has manifested two opposite … Read more
“Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” John 15:3 What God does, he does by the word of his grace and the influences which accompany that word; for ever bear in mind that God does nothing but by his word. The sanctifying, cleansing effects therefore which attend the word … Read more