God is Good

"God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."—Gen. i. 81.

Such is the joy of God!  He "rejoices in His works."(Ps. 104:31.)  These were but "parts of His ways," (Job 26:14,) the first scene in the unfolding of His wondrous purpose; yet it is very glorious; and in it He is well pleased.  Each day's work was good; all things above and beneath; the heaven, with its stars; the earth with its flowers and gems, its hills, and seas, and streams; man, and beast, and fowl; all were good.

He takes deep interest in all that He has made!  Each atom is His own, and each atom comes under His eye.  It is not only the hairs of our head that are numbered, nor the sparrow that He notices, nor the lily of the field that He paints; but the very dust of the ground, the sand of the desert, the pebble on the ocean-beach; all these are owned and cared for by Him.

This is the God in whom "we live, and move, and have our being!" How deep His love! What will His love not do for us in all things great and small! He cares for our earth, and for us its inhabitants! His delight is to bless; and what amount of blessing will He count too great to bestow on those for whom He has already given His Son! Let us trust Him in everything. He will not fail us; He will do us good and not evil abundantly all the days of our lives.

Spiritual Peace

The birth of Christ was celebrated by a multitude of the heavenly host, whose song on that memorable occasion was, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men,” Luke 2:14. The interesting message which God has sent us by his commissioned servants the apostles, is justly termed the gospel of peace, Rom. 10:15.  Jesus Christ, whose authority and power in the church are absolute and unchangeable, is styled the Prince of Peace, Isaiah 9:6. And one effect, or fruit, of the Holy Spirit’s influence, is said to be peace.  Ever since the first entrance of sin, the world has exhibited a scene of disorder and confusion, a field of blood and carnage. But those who cordially receive the gospel, who become the subjects of the King of Zion, who are habitually led by the Spirit, are made partakers of true peace.

Spiritual peace consists in that sweet and calm serenity of conscience, which arises from a well-grounded persuasion of our reconciliation to God.

How awful is the condition of man in a state of depravity and guilt! “ Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them,” Gal.3:10. The law, insists upon obedience perfect in all its parts; perfect in every degree; and, in each of these respects, perpetual.  While, therefore, any one continues under the law, a stranger to himself, and an enemy to God by wicked works, he must be destitute of true peace.  The terrors of Divine justice are set in array against him, and a condemning sentence is prepared to fix his eternal doom. In this state, no creature can afford deliverance. But “when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly,” Rom. 5: 6. 

We must look to Calvary for the first glimpse of hope.  There we see the moral law in the highest degree honored, and all its demands fully answered.  There we see the most striking display of inflexible justice and eternal mercy.  There we behold the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world! There our peace was made and ratified by the blood of the everlasting covenant.  Paul says, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,” Gal. 3:13. “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself,” Col. 1:19, 20.  Peter declares, that “ Christ hath suffered, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,” 1 Pet. 3: 16. These, and many other Scriptures, clearly show the divinely appointed method of reconciliation for guilty, apostate man. Glorious, and ever to be admired, is the grand scheme of human redemption.

Love: A fruit of the Spirit

Is the mind of man naturally disposed to set its affections' on things above, rather than on things below? Is that love which is essential to real religion an innate principle, that grows spontaneously in the soil of the depraved heart? Far otherwise.

 Man, through sin, is naturally alienated and estranged from God. He has a revolting and a rebellious heart. How strongly, yet justly, is this expressed by the apostle Paul; “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be!” (Rom. 8:7). While men are in this unhappy state, they, in effect, say unto God, “ Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways,” Job. 21:4. The consequence is, that some are to be found as absolutely devoid of all religion, as if they were professed atheists; and others, who still wear a form of piety, adopt errors which rob God of his honor and praise, to offer a more costly sacrifice to the great idol, self. 

Divine love in us, is not therefore a native, but a heaven-implanted principle, the fruit of the Spirit. It is not a spark of our own kindling, but a flame brought from above. When the sword of the Spirit cuts away that thick veil which covers the carnal heart, love enters and dwells, where before enmity rankled. From the lips which once distilled the poison of asps, the milk of charity now flows. This representation agrees with the ancient promise, recorded in Deut. 30:6, “And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart,'and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” That the above passage describes that inward, spiritual renovation which is the effect of free grace, is beyond a doubt. It is easy to see the precious truth, under every form of figurative words. As the uncircumcised ear cannot hear, so the uncircumcised heart cannot feel.

No sooner, however, does the hand of God remove all obstructions, than the ear receives the joyful sound of the gospel, and the heart melts by the touch of Divine love. “ I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee,” Jer. 31:3. To this sweet and gracious attraction the stubborn will bends, and the perverse, untoward passions yield. “Hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us,” Rom. 5:5. This remarkable passage deserves particular attention. It is the sole prerogative of Him who hath the key of David to open the heart, as appears from what is spoken of Lydia, Acts 16:14. 

When he hath opened the heart, he empties and cleanses it, casting out the idols and abominations, as he once cast the buyers and sellers out of the temple, Matt. 21:12. And that grace may reign, through righteousness, unto eternal life, he plentifully pours his love into the heart, where it is diffused, through the whole course and conduct of the saint.

Love the Lord God and serve Him only!

“ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets,” Matt. 22: 37-40.

God, as the source of all being, and the center of all perfection and excellency, claims the chief place in our affection. Now, to deny his claim, or prefer another, is to pervert the law of universal order, and to open a door for the entrance of confusion and every evil work. If a Being of infinite majesty, un spotted holiness, and unbounded goodness, is not to be devoutly adored and supremely beloved, there is not a single principle in religion or morals on which we can rely, but all is involved in darkness and uncertainty.

The footsteps of his wisdom and power, goodness and glory, may be traced in the works of creation. But though the earth is full of his riches, and the heavens sparkle with his glory, it is in the Scriptures chiefly that the Divine attributes appear in the most attractive and delightful manifestations. Here we have marvelous light, to give us those spiritual discoveries which are adapted to fill our hearts with s love. Here we behold God in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. Here "mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace embrace each other."(Psalm 85:10).  "In the only begotten Son, who is the brightness of his Father’s glory, and the express image of his person," we find every thing great and good, to interest and engage the heart. (Heb. 1:3)

As God is the supreme object on which holy love fixes, so creatures ought to have a subordinate measure of love, according to the degree in which they bear his image.

 

More than Conquerors part II

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us."—Rom. 8:37.

Beloved, are not some of you weakened by this indecisiveness in your views of truth, in your steps of faith, in your refusals of temptation, in your surrender to God, in your consecration to His service and your obedience to His special call? You have been just uncertain enough to keep the question open and tempt the adversary to renew the conflict evermore. We sometimes read in God's word after one of David's hardest conflicts, or one of Joshua's boldest triumphs, "the land had rest from war!" Thus we have rest by becoming "more than conquerors through Him that loved us."

It is to have such a victory as will effectually break the adversary's power and not only defend us from his attacks but effectually weaken and destroy his strength. This is one of the purposes of temptation, that we may be workers together with God in destroying evil. We read of Joshua's battles that "it was of the Lord that these kings should come against Joshua in battle for this very purpose, that they might be utterly destroyed." It was not enough for Israel to beat them off and be saved from their attacks, but God wanted them exterminated. And so when God allows the enemy to appear in our lives it is that we may do him irreparable and eternal injury, and thus glorify God and be workers with Christ in destroying the works of the devil.

The Spirit of Adoption

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; bit ye have received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Romans 8:15

Sinful man has every natural reason to fear facing his Creator.  The awfulness of transgression should not be lost on us, and the hatred of God for the sins of man is terrible beyond description, but through Jesus Christ all of this is changed.  to the soul that accepts by faith the life of Christ as his own, the bondage of fear is immediately removed.  Was it not prophesied that he would set at liberty the captive?  This is true, gloriously true, and instead of the bondage of fear, we have the Spirit of adoption.  What a beautiful word!  It signifies that though of a different family by nature we are recipients of divine love and have been transplanted into the kingdom of heave by an act of free grace.  

An adopted one does not earn his way into the affection of his parents nor is there anything to recommend him as a member of the family by nature.  He was and is, according to Scripture, "an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, without God and without hope in the world."  His only hope is in divine favor unmerited and undeserved, and this is how it came; this is the Spirit of adoption, this is the Spirit of Christ!  What else could have made Him leave heave and all its glories to walk in the valley of the shadow of death for thirty-three years?  What else would make Him persevere to drink the cup when He could have shunned it and returned to His kingly throne?  It was the Spirit of adoption, Christ's love for man, that led Him all the way to the cross.

Understanding

"He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding." Proverbs 15:32

Compliments are easy to absorb, but criticism is much more difficult.  However, one's best friend will tell him the truth no matter what the consequences, and to reject constructive criticism is the height of folly.  Such an attitude bespeaks pride.  Some of the prophets of Israel suffered because the king wanted to hear only pleasing things.  Prophets who could outdo others in predicting rosy futures were promoted to positions of favor.  Conversely, those who told the truth, no matter how severe, were remanded to dungeons or exiled.  the king always suffered the consequences of his own folly.  By contrast there was King David, who when rebuked by faithful prophets of God, repented of his sins, put on sackcloth and ashes, ad literally groveled before the Lord.  This man loved his own soul.  This man got understanding.  

A good listener must have the spirit of meekness or he will never hear the voice of reproof without resentful reaction, and meekness is a very rare quality in our world.  Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." (Matt. 5:5)  Meekness is a quality that has to be cultivated.  One must deliberately, by an act of the will, humble himself before God daily, acknowledging his sins.  Some of the prayers of David are beautifully interspersed with confessions of unworthiness.  Meekness is also often the product of suffering.

Peter in his earlier years was brash, impulsive, and quick tempered, but in that courtyard scene, when the rooster's voice three times signaled the folly of human resolutions unaided by divine power, and when the piercing eyes of the Son of God searched his soul, driving him to Gethsemane and to his knees, a different Peter emerged- a Peter meek and powerful.  To say it better:  His meekness was his power.

Most of the strife in our world may be traced to misunderstanding.  There a too few people with the gift of being able to sit down and analyze a situation without emotion.  The prayer of Solomon was for a wise and understanding heart.  His prayer was answered, and today, thousands, of years after his death, his wisdom is a legend.