this morning another number of hours 'frozen' in the bed...not wanting to face another day. i was supposed to be finished working at the end of 2010 and use the rest of my life 24/7 for God. here i am 3.4.2013 still lying face down in the muck of an incorrigible 'old nature'...easily swayed away from doing DUTY, easily putting myself first, not wanting to face the horror of fixing up 54 and selling it. why?
1. i hate working on my own house...always have...don't know why, but i do.
2. as i try to pull away the junk i've accumulated from my flesh, the beat up old down-around-the-ears house seems, growingly more and more precious each day. it, rather than Jesus, evidently is my security.
3. i have so little faith in the One who has, in a number of amazing ways...especially since selling my properties in allentown, abundantly, at times miraculously, provided all i need and more.
why do i say this?
i fear that if i get rid of my possessions so the Lord would be able to move me wherever He desires,
that He will leave me high and dry and i will have nothing to 'save' me from...from what!
dying of hunger, or exposure to the elements, or people hostile to hearing the good news of Jesus...
i don't know, a frightened mind can conjure up totally ridiculous images.
and even if that would actually happened, especially the last, wouldn't that be cause for great joy,
because suffering on account of Jesus' name?
the last time i experienced anything like this was when i was pushed into my own business:
frozen in terror.
look what happened. all debt gone. money in the bank.
oh me of miserable, non-existent faith!
so what did the Lord do? what was His response to another royal slap in the face by my
ungrateful, unbelieving heart? He had me come to the place in luke where He relates to peter...
He spoke gently into my spirit, soothing, calming, giving another improbable dawn of hope...
out of the despair of my inexcusable sin by letting me see His love for peter and for the other 10 who were all thinking about their greatness rather than about Jesus' imminent suffering, abuse and death.
below is lenski's commentary on luke 22.31-4..
in verse 24 they had a strife over who was the greatest among them. Jesus' response?
-again teaching them (had done so a few days earlier mt. 20.25-8) what true greatness is...
being as the youngest among others, being as a servant to all the rest.
-then demonstrating this by washing all their feet before eating the passover meal
-then thankfully acknowledging that they 'have remained through with Me in My temptations' v28
-then saying to them, 'I appoint unto you a kingdom', as My Father has Me v29
-then encouraging them that they may eat and drink at his table in His kingdom v30
-then encouraging them further that they 'may sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of israel
the kind of grace i continually experience at His loving hand,
i give little, usually nothing...and He comes so graciously...ESPECIALLY
when i am enabled to admit explicitly and sorrowfully the latest heinous sin committed
against Him.
v31-2 simon, simon,
lo, satan did ask to have you (humas) to sift as the wheat,
but i Myself begged concerning thee lest thy faith eclipse.
and thou, once having turned, make thy brethren firm.
the doubling of the address expresses deep solicitude;
it is like the doubling in 'martha, martha,
'jerusalem, jerusalem',
and in david's heartbroken cry:
'o absalom, my son, my son!'
the emotion differs in each case but is deep in all of them.
whereas 'simon' was the name that was commonly used to designate him,
in the present instance it is the proper term, not 'peter, peter'.
which would apply to the rocklike nature of the apostle,
which was so lacking in him this night.
Jesus addresses only simon
although what he says applies to humas 'you',
to all the eleven.
we see why Jesus does this.
in the first place,
the others are present and hear that they are all involved;
in the second place, (peri su) 'concerning thee, follows
and shows that simon was involved in a special way
-we know that this was due to his denial of Jesus,
regarding which Jesus also warns him in v34 before them all.
'satan did ask to have you'..
draws back the curtain
and in a starling way reveals who was back of the ordeal
through which the eleven would pass this night.
the verb (ask)..intends to allude to Job 1,
satan's request to try out Job.
satan is not free to assail us at will
and with what power he pleases.
satan my try us out only by God's permission-
a might comfort for us all.
God is faithful in all our temptations
and ever makes a way of escape, I cor. 10.13.
the exposure which Jesus makes of satan's intent
is to aid simon and the eleven as all the warnings of Jesus do.
although they will be struck down by satan's assault,
their escape and recovery are already planned
and jesus is taking the first steps in that plan.
the infinitive with tou states the object of satan's asking;
'to sift (you) as the wheat'.
satan did not, of course, use this figure;
his request was made with the though that the disciples
would not be wheat but only strawy stuff that would remain
in the sieve to be burned.
this figure belongs to Jesus who uses it to illustrate
what the coming ordeal is to be for the disciples.
wheat must be sifted,
wheat cannot escape sifting.
it must be cleaned because of its value.
yet this simple simile of Jesus should not be made
an allegory with a number of points of comparison.
there is really only one tertium comparationis or point of comparison,
namely the violent and continuous shaking of the sieve
to cause all the sound, solid wheat to fall through
on the pile of wheat below
while all the shaking leaves
the strawy and chaffy stuff in the sieve.
so the disciples were with God's own permission
to be put through the severest trials
to see whether they, indeed, had faith or not.
when Jesus returned to this subject
on the way out to gethsemane,
he used another figure,
the smiting the shepherd and scattering the sheep,
which pictures the same painful experience. matt. 26.31
32. it was simon, impetuous and headstrong simon,
who would get into the greatest danger by his own fault.
that is why Jesus addresses him
and lets the others only hear.
and that is why Jesus begged in supplication for him personally
lest his faith totally eclipse (active, aorist-states fact, subjunctive-states possibility rather than reality),
utterly fail and go out.
if the question is asked as to why Jesus did not pray equally for the rest,
we see in john 17 that He sis pray for them,
but the story of peter's denial shows that
he was far worse than the others.
why did peter need the warning given in v34,
he and not the rest?
for the same reason that he needed
the personal and individual intercession
which the rest did not need equally with him.
the aorist 'I did beg'
implies that Jesus' supplication was not in vain.
it was God's will that simon, too, be sifted like the rest,
but it was not his will that simon should disobey Jesus' warning.
it was this sin of simon's
which caused the great Advocate to intercede for him.
but we should not get the idea that jesus' prayer
was heart by God in an absolute or arbitrary way.
God and Jesus used the means that proved effective in simon's case.
the warning about the cock's crowing
after the threefold denial was such a means.
a point is usually brought out by reference to judas.
would he not have repented as simon did
if Jesus had interceded for him in the same way?
the answer is that Jesus applied even stronger means,
mightier warnings to the traitor,
applied them all in vain.
and while He was applying these means
He certainly also prayed for judas,
and yet judas went to perdition (a state of final spiritual ruin).
the prayers and intercessions of Jesus
are not absolute.
man's wicked will is able to damn him nonetheless.
(note: wouldn't i be the trophy to God's grace if we all find judas in heaven with us.
typically judged condemned, he seems to me to have evidenced what looks like
repentence. the last director of Voice of the Martyrs, committed suicide when he
was about to be publicly accused of molesting a child (would it, in fact have been
true or false, i don't know...but whether true or false does that mean he was not
truly saved. there are many reasons of all different natures that human beings ra-
tionalize suicide. some may be sinful but as far as i understand, the only sin not
forgivable is the clear (public?) attributing to satan of what the Holy Spirit does.
did the director of Voice of the Martyrs do this? the following director supposed
that he may have wanted to protect Voice of the Martyrs from wanton slander
(attached to a lie?) judas may have
wanted to protect Jesus, may have been so anguished over what his predilection
for greed drove him to actually do!? or any other motive, sinful or no, of which
we know nothing. i think it would be the capstone of the beautiful Grace of God
for him to be there with all the rest of us undeserving, many times (secretly? openly?)
reprehensible sinners. maybe he never knew the Lord's grace...but i'm rooting for
judas too..)
the grace, the means, even the greatest,
and the intercessions can all be nullified in their effect.
Christ's omniscience knows the outcome in advance.
it is this foreknowledge which already now tells peter
that his faith will not perish utterly.
this telling is a part of the means for saving him.
so also is Jesus' order to him, that,
after he has once turned, he should make his brethren firm,
namely when they, too, passed through the sifting attacks of satan.
why did Jesus not give such a command to the other disciples?
the answer is not that of the romanists:
because peter was to be the first pope;
and not that of many others:
because he was the foremost of the apostles and their leader.
the answer is almost the opposite.
because he fell so deeply, fell as none of the rest fell,
therefore, when he recovered, he was the one who could help the others
by means of his own sad experience,
should make the wavering faith of the others firm again
so that it would not give way as his own faith
had given way almost completely.
his brethren are the other ten.
the fact that simon would aid his brethren in the wider sense
in a similar way throughout his ministry is only a deduction.
Jesus deals only with the ordeal of the apostles.
we see that He is thus preparing the means which He needs
and that will be most effective, special means
for simon's special case
and his recovery as an present command to peter,
which is based on his foreknowledge, is to help them all.
the participle epistrepsas is intransitive
and speaks of simon's having turned back from his fall
in repentance.
this is not conversion in the absolute sense as though
every spark of simon's faith had gone out.
but in the relative sense as when a disciple
turns back from a course that has almost destroyed
his faith.
'once' on having turned, Jesus says,
because He is not specifying when the turn will take place.
we cannot agree that this participle is transitive:
'once having turned thy brethren, make them firm'.
so little does the adverb 'once' support this sense
that it actually forbids it
since 'once' intends to leave unsaid just
when simon will turn and recover,
and that this turning of his alone will enable him
to do anything for his fellow apostles.
we catch a glimpse of simon's aid to them in 24.34
where the others are jubilant in reporting that Jesus had appeared to simon.
33. but he said to him, Lord,
together with Thee i am ready to
go into prison and into death!
but He said, I tell thee, peter,
a cock will not crow today
till thrice thou didst deny to know Me!
it is thus that simon answers the warning of his Lord.
how can satan harm simon when he is so strong,
so valiant?
why, if it should come to such a test,
even prison and even death
have no terrors for him.
he does not say:
'by Thy help" or 'by God's help'.
simon's reaction to Jesus' warning and intercessions for is
is that Jesus can count on him and need never worry about
a man who is as brave as he is.
poor, proud simon!
34. over against peter's contradicting words
Jesus places His authoritative 'I tell thee!'
Jesus overrides peter's self confidence and trust
in his own powers.
straws are they in the hurricane
that is about to descend.
why did Jesus now change from 'simon' to 'peter'?
it is too weak an answer to say,
'in order to remind him that he was not
acting or speaking like peter, the Rock'.
he was trying to do that very thing,
and Jesus practically says to him:
'so thou art already peter-
thou, who this very night, before the cock crows,
wilt have already denied me no less than three times!'
peter will give his own words the lie.
he will be so frightened at prison and death
that he will openly deny once, twice, three times,
in fact, that he even knows Jesus.
the verb means 'to say no'
and thus 'to deny', and the aorist expresses the fact.
this crowing of a cock is not some casual crowing of an individual cock.
two crowings were distinguished, one occurring near midnight,
the other just before dawn.
they helped to divide the night into the midnight or silent period.
the period before dawn, and the period after dawn.
pliny calls the fourth watch secundum gallicinium.
mark 14.30, in the second warning to peter,
refers to both crowings:
'before the cock crows twice,' ie. before the day dawns.
luke and john refer only to the crowing before dawn.
the phrase is not a mere expression of time
but refers to other actual crowings of the cocks that night.
the word is also spoken with a special purpose.
it does more than merely to foretell
how soon peter will fall,
it already prepares the help
to raise peter from his fall.
peter will actually hear the crowing when it begins;
that will bring Jesus word to his mind;
and this together with a look from Jesus' eyes v61
will cause the tears of repentance to flow.
the effort to discredit the evangelists
by advancing the contention that no chickens
were kept in a city like jerusalem
and that no cocks crowed within range of peter's ears,
has long ago been met by ample evidence to the contrary.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
2.26.2013 PHILIP HENRY III
philip henry was one of those who feared an oath and said,
'oaths are edged tools and not to be played with.'
in reference to his own improvement, his diary...
'covenants renewed in these particulars.
by the Lord's help, i purpose to be
more substantial in secret worship;
more sparing of precious time;
more constant in reading the scriptures alone,
and meditating upon them;
more careful to improve all opportunities of doing good to souls;
not taking, but seeking them;
less fearful about events when in a way of duty...
'when others are afflicted, we are to conclude
it is for trial,
when ourselves,
for sin.
and here it may be very pertinent to observe,
how industrious mr. henry was at this time,
when he and his friends suffered such
hard things form the government,
to preserve and promote a good affection
to the government notwithstanding.
it was commonly charged at that time
upon the nonconformists in general,
especially from the pulpits,
that they were all a factious and turbulent people,
as was said of old-ezra 4.15-
hurtful to kings and provinces
that their meetings were for the sowing of sedition and discontents..
but how peaceably they carried themselves,
is manifest to God, and in the consciences of many.
for an instance of it, it will not be amiss
to give some account of a sermon,
which mr. henry preached in some very private meetings,
such as were called seditious conventicles,
in the year 1669, when it was a day of treading down,
and of perplexity;
it was on that text, psalm 35.20.
against them that are quiet in the land.
whence (not to curry favour with rulers,
for whatever the sermon was,
the very preaching of it had been known.
must have been severely punished,
but purely out of conscience towards God)
he taught his friends this doctrine,-
that it is the character of the people of God,
that they are a quiet people in the land.
'this quietness he described to be an orderly,
peaceable subjection to governors and government in the Lord.
we must maintain a reverent esteem of them, and of their authority,
in opposition to despising dominion, II peter 2.10;
we must be meek, under severe commands, and burdensome impositions,
not murmuring and complaining, as the israelites against moses and aaron;
but take them up as our cross in our way,
and bear them as we do foul weather.
we must not speak evil of dignities, jude 8,
nor revile the gods, exodus 22.28.
paul checked himself for this, acts 23.5;
i did not consider it, if i had, i would not have said so.
we must not traduce their government,
as absalom did david's, II samuel 15.3.
great care is to be taken how we
speak of the faults of any, especially of rulers, eccl. 10.20.
(note: Lord, forgive me.)
the people of God do make the word of God their rule,
and by that they are taught.
1. that majesty is God's ordinance,
and magistrates God's ministers;
that by him kings reign,
and the powers that be are ordained of Him.
2. that they, as well as others,
are to have their dues, honour and fear and tribute.
3. that their lawful commands are to be obeyed,
and that readily and cheerfully, titus 3.1.
4. that the penalties inflicted for not obeying unlawful commands,
are patiently to be undergone.
this is the rule, and as many as walk according to this rule,
peace shall be upon them,
and there can be no danger of their unpeaceableness.
they are taught to pray for kings and all in authority, I tim. 2.1-2
and God forbid we should do otherwise;
yea, though they persecute, jeremiah 29.7.
peaceable prayers bespeak a peaceable people, psam 109.4.
if some professing religion have been unquiet,
their unquietness hath given the lie to their profession, jude, 7,11-2.
quietness is our badge, colossians 3.12.
it will be our strength, isaiah, 30.7,15.
our rejoicing in the day of evil, jeremiah, 18.18:
it is pleasing to God, I tim. 2.2-3:
it may work upon others, I peter, 2.12-3.
the means he prescribed for the keeping of us quiet,
were to get our hearts filled with
the knowledge and belief of these two things.
1. that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, job, 18.36;
many have thought otherwise, and it made them unquiet.
2. that the wrath of man
worketh not the righteousness of God, james 1.20;
he needs not our sin to bring to pass His own counsel.
we must mortify unquietness in the causes of it, james 4.1:
we must always remember the oath of God, eccl. 8.2:
the oath of allegiance is an oath of quietness.
and we must beware of the company
and converse of those that are unquiet. proverbs 22.24-5.
though deceitful matters be devised,
yet we must be quiet still;
nay, be so much the more quiet.
..he was..oft successful in persuading people
to recede from their right for peace sake;
and he would for that purpose tell them luther's story
of the two goats,
that met upon a narrow bridge over a deep water;
they could not go back, they durst not fight;
after a short parley,
one of them lay down, and let the other go over him,
and no harm was done.
(foot.. the moral is easy.
be content thy person be trod upon for peace sake.
thy person,k i say, not thy conscience. p.henry)
..his house at broad oak was by the road side,
which, though it had its inconveniencies,
yet, he would say, pleased him well,
because it gave his friends an opportunity of calling on him the oftener.
(foot: one of my dear father's remarks was this,-
that, though it be comfortable to have friends to visit, and comfort in them;
yet it is more to have a comfortable home; such as this world affords.
blessed be God for the remaining rest.
..the learned henry jessey could not 'brook fruitless visits
and wrote his mind concerning it over his studie door accordingly,
directions to all visitors.
no fruitless visits. no, nor speech.
for time is precious: hinder none.
let words be few,-good, then cease.
dispatch:-prepare for death. I'm/we're gone.
..he was very charitable to the poor, and was full of alms deeds,
which he did, not which he said he would do
or which he put others on to do,
but which he did himself,
dispersing abroad and giving to the poor,
seeking and rejoicing in opportunities of that kind.
and whenever he gave an alms for the body,
he usually gave with it a spiritual alms,
some good word of counsel, reproof, instruction, or comfort,
as there was occasion,k
and in accommodating these to the persons he spoke to,
he had a very great dexterity.
he was very forward to lend money freely
(foot: this was the practice of dr. hammond. it is said of a renowned nobleman,
that he would often give to labouring men
'good summes of money, making them beleeve
that hee did but lend it them;
and causing some about him to passe their words
for the repayment
when hee never meant to receive it again;
but did that as himself was wont
to tell us in policie to make them
continue their labour and to be good husbands.
to any of his poor neighbours that had occasion,
and would sometimes say,
that in many cases there was more charity
in lending than in giving,
because it obliged the borrower both to honesty and industry.
when one of his neighbours, to whom he had lent three pounds,
failed, so that he was never likely to see a farthing of it,
he writes thus upon it;
-notwithstanding this, yet still i judge it my duty to lend,
nothing despairing;
so dr. hammond reads it, luke 4.35.
though what is lent in charity be not repaid,
yet it is not lost.
when those that had borrowed money of him
paid him again,
he usually gave them back some part,
to encourage honesty.
he judged the taking of moderate interest for money lawful,
(foot: hr. henry has thus recorded the opinion of mr. baxter on this subject.
...'if usury be condemned, 'tis either by law of nature or some positive law.
if the former, then either as an act of impiety, injustice or unmercifulness.
that which can be proved to have any of these i am resolved against,
but there is some usury which i am not able to see any of these in,
nay, i think i could so lend on usury in some cases,
as might be as great an act of bounty or mercy as to give near half the money.
if it be forbidden by a positive law, then either of moses, or of Christ:
not of moses, for the mosaick law is abrogated,
though much of the matte of it be still in force,
-as the law of nature, and of Christ.
not of Christ, for where had Christ any such positive law?
on these grounds i speak against all unjust and unmerciful usury,
but i dare go no further, and yet i will justify none...')
where the borrower was in a way of gaining by it.
but he would advise his friends that had money,
rather to dispose of it otherwise if they could.
it must not be forgotten, how punctual and exact he was
in all his accounts with tenants, workmen, etc.
being always careful to keep such things in black and white,
as he used to say, which is the surest way to prevent mistakes,
and a man's wronging either himself or his neighbour;
such was his prudence, and such his patience and peaceableness,
that all the time he was at broad oak, he never sued any, nor ever was sued,
but was instrumental to prevent many a vexatious law suit among his neighbours.
he used to say,-
there are four rules to be duly observed in going to law;
1. we must not go to law for trifles, as he did who said,
he would rather spend a hundred pounds in law,
than lose a penny worth of his right, matthew 5.39-41.
2. we must not be rash and hasty in it,
but try all other means possible
to compose differences;
wherein he that yields most, as abraham did to lot,
is the better man and there is nothing lost by it in the end.
I corinthians, 6.1-2.
3. we must see that it be without malice, or desire of revenge.
if the undoing of our brother be the end of our going to law,
as it is with many,
it is a certain evil,
and it speeds accordingly.
4. it must be with a disposition to peace,
whenever it may be had,
and an ear open to all overtures of that kind..
he was an enemy to austerity of deportment
and much enjoyed the pleasures of social intercourse.
pest houses, he would say, always stand alone
and yet are full of infectious diseases.
solitariness is no infallible argument of sanctity.
(foot: it is a scandal that is cast upon religion
and the professors of it,
that they are unneighbourly and unsociable.
God Himself loves society,
He loves holy meetings,
Hew loves the communion of saints, the household of faith,
and His delight is to be with the sons of men,
and well approves that the sons of men
should be one with another,
yet so that He may not be excluded. )
it was against the EVILS of society his watchfulness was directed,
and these he uniformly endeavoured to counteract.
hence four rules he sometimes gave
to be observed in our converse with men.
1. have communion with few.
2. be familiar with one.
3. deal justly with all.
4. speak evil of none.
henry was a lover of good men,
and such always met a cordial welcome under his roof;
so that he would pleasantly say sometimes,
when he had his christian friends about him,
-He had room for 12 of them in his beds,
a hundred of them in his bar,
and a thousand of them in his heart.
nor was he unmindful of others;
for he spoke of it with pleasure,
that the situation of his house also
gave him an opportunity of being kind to strangers,
and such as were any way distressed upon the road,
to whom he was upon all occasions cheerfully ready,
fully answering the apostle's character of a bishop,
that he must be of good behaviour,
decent, affable, and obliging, -and given to hospitality;
I timothy 3.2;
like abraham, sitting at his tent door,
in quest of opportunities to do good.
if he met with any poor near his house,
and gave them alms in money,
yet he would bid them go to his door besides,
for relief there.
he was very tender and compassionate
towards poor strangers and travellers,
though his charity and candour were often
imposed upon by cheats and pretenders,
whom he was not apt to be suspicious of;
but would say, in the most favourable sense,
-thou knowest not the heart of a stranger.
if any asked his charity,
whose representation of their case he did not like,
or who he thought did amiss to take that course,
he would first give them an alms,
and then mildly reprove them;
and labour to convince them that
they were out of the way of duty.
and that they could not expect
that God should bless them in it;
and would not chide them,
but reason with them.
and he would say,
if he should tell them of their faults,
and not give them an alms,
the reproof would look
only like an excused to deny his charity
and would be rejected accordingly.
in a word, his greatest care about the things of this world was,
how to do good with what he had,
and to devise liberal things;
desiring to make no other accession to his estate,
but only that blessing which attends beneficence.
he did firmly believe and it should seem few do.
that what is given to the poor,
is lent to the Lord,
who will pay it again in kind or kindness;
and that religion and piety
are undoubtedly the best friend to outward prosperity,
and he found it so;
for it pleased God abundantly
to bless his habitation
and to make a hedge about him
and about his house.
and about all that he had round about.
and though he did not delight himself in the abundance of wealth;
yet, which is far better,
he delighted himself in the abundance of peace; psalm 37.11
all that he had and did,
observably prospered,
so that the country oftentimes took notice of it;
and called his family a family which the Lord had blessed.
..he used to say, that,
therefore many of the scripture parables and similitudes
are taken from the common actions of this life,
that when our hands are employed about them,
our hearts may the more easily pass through them
to divine and heavenly things.
..in the time of trouble and distress, by the conventicle act, in 1670,
he kept private and stirred little abroad, as loath to offend
those that were in power,
and judging it prudence to gather in his sails,
when the storm was violent.
he then observed, as that which he was troubled at,
'that there was a great deal of precious time lost among professors,
when they came together,
in discoursing on their adventures to meet, and their escapes,
which he feared tended more to set up self,
that to give glory to god.
also in telling how they got together and such a one preached,
but little inquiring what spiritual benefit and advantage
was reaped by it;
and that we are apt to make the circumstances of our religious services,
more a matter of our discourse,
than the substance of them.
...in those things wherein the people of God are agreed,
i will spend my zeal;
and wherein they differ,
i will endeavour to walk according to the light
that God hath given me,
and charitably believe that others do so too.
..in evil times it fares best with them
that are most careful about duty
and least about safety.
..Father, Thy will be done;
it is good for us to be at such uncertainties;
for now we receive our liberty from our father fresh every day,
which is best and sweetest of all.
..he that backbites with his tongue wounds four at once;
1. he wounds the good name of his neighbour,
which is dearer to him than the apple of his eye;
2. he wounds the name of god, religion suffers,
when those who profess it thus backbite each other
3. he wounds his own soul,
brings the guilt of great sin upon his own soul,
which he must certainly answer for;
4. he wounds love in him that hears it,
so that the esteem of his brother is lessened.
..did you gather food in harvest?
if aye, bless God;
if no, reflect with grief and shame and make peace,
and UP yet, AND BE DOING...
...look, what oyle is to the wheels,
what weights are to the clock,
what wings are to the bird,
what sailes are to the ship, -that FAITH is to all religious duties and services.
let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth,
but let not the thing formed, say to Him that formed it,
-why hast Thou made me thus?
..and as for the improvement of this affliction
(which, i hope, both of you earnestly desire,
for it is a great loss to lose such a providence,
and not to be made better by it,)
i conceive there are four lessons which it should teach you,
and they are good lessons,
and should be well learned,
for the advantage of them is unspeakable.
1. kings 12.18 art thou come to call my sins to remembrance, and to slay my son?
it is sin, sin that is the old kill-friend,
the jonah that hath raise this storm,
the achan that hath troubled your house;
then how should you grow in your hatred of it,
and endeavours against it,
that you may be the death of that which hath been the death of your dear children?
i say the DEATH of it,
for nothing less will satisfy the true penitent,
than the death of such a malefactor.
2.it should be a SPUR to you, to put you on in heaven's way;
it may be you were growing remiss in duty,
beginning to slack your former pace in religion,
and your heavenly Father saw it, and was grieved at it,
and sent this sad providence to be your monitor,
to tell you,
you should remember whence you are fallen,
and do your first works,
and be more humble and holy and heavenly,
self denying and watchful.,
abounding always in the work of the Lord.
3.you must learn by it,
as long as you live,
to keep your affections in due bounds towards creature comforts.
how hard it is to love and not to over love;
to delight in children or yoke fellows and not over delight;
now God is a jealous God
and will not give His glory to any other;
and our excess this way doth often provoke Him
to remove that mercy from us,
which we do thus make an idol of;
and our duty is to labour when He doth so,
to get that matter amended,
and to rejoice in all our enjoyments with trembling,
and as if we rejoiced not.
4. it should be a means of drawing your hearts and thought more upwards and homewards;
i mean your everlasting home,
you should be looking oftener now than before into the other world
i shall go to him, saith david,
when his little son was gone before.
it is yet but a little while ere all the things of time shall be swallowed up in eternity.
and the matter is not great whether we or our's die first,
while we are all dying;
in the midst of life we are in death;
-what manner of persons then ought we to be.
(looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of the Lord..)
now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God, even our Rather,
be your support..
and give you a name better than that of sons and daughters.
...'if i were to die in the pulpit,
i would desire to die preaching repentance;
as if i die out of the pulpit,
i would desire to die practicing repentance.
..he had often this saying concerning repentance.
HE THAT REPENTS EVERY DAY,
FOR THE SINS OF EVERY DAY,
WHEN HE COMES TO DIE,
WILL HAVE THE SINS OF BUT ONE DAY TO REPENT OF.
even reckonings make good friends.
..(henry had been fined unjustly for something)
it was much pressed upon him to pay the fine,
which might prevent his own loss and the justices trouble.
but he was not willing to do it,
partly, because he would give no encouragement to such prosecutions,
nor voluntarily reward the informers
for that which he thought they should
rather be punished for;
and partly because he though himself wronged in
the doubling of the fine
(in his journal he writes,
this refusal is thought and termed
contempt, stubbornness and what not.
but let God and the world judge.
it is supposed the easier they come by the fines,
the likelier they will be to come again.
besides, as yet, the general practice of
good people throughout the nation is to refuse payment,
and to suffer distress,
though it be found, for the most part,
to inflame the reckoning. )
whereupon his goods were distrained
(constrain by seizing, holding goods) upon,
and carried away;
in the doing of which many passages occurred
which might be worth the noting,
but, that the repetition of them would perhaps grate
and give offense to some.
let it therefore suffice,
waving the circumstances,
to remember only that their warrant,
not giving them authority to break open doors,
nor their watchfulness getting them an opportunity
to enter the house,
they carried away about 33 cart load of goods
without doors, corn cut upon the ground, hay, coals, etc.
this made a great noise int the country,
and raised the indignation of many against the decrees
which prescribed this grievousness;
while mr. henry bore it with his usual evenness
and serenity of mind,
not at all moved or disturbed by it.
he did not boast of his sufferings,
or make any great matter of them;
but would often say,
-alas, this is nothing to what others suffer,
nor to what we ourselves may suffer before we die!
and yet he rejoiced and blessed God
that it was not for debt or for evil doing,
that his goods were carried away.
and saith he, while it is for well doing that we suffer,
they cannot harm us.
..in his diary..
'how oft have we said that the changes are at the door;
but blessed by God,
there is no sting in this!
he frequently expressed the assurance he had,
that whatever damage he sustained,
-God is able to make it up again.
and as he used to say,
-though we may be losers for Christ,
yet we shall not be losers by Him in the end.
he had often said,
that his preaching was likely to do the most good,
when it was sealed to by suffering;
and if this be the time, saith he,
welcome the will of God...
appendix 15..
-the way of doctrinal faith is a good old way...we must try all doctrines by the scripture.
-the way of divine worship in all the ordinances, is a good old way..sabbath religion...continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
-the way of holiness and close walking is a god old way..enoch..walk with Him..
-the way of heavenly mindedness and contempt of the world, is a good old way...live like pilgrims..here today and gone tomorrow. ..is the world your portion..
-the way of plainness and simplicity is a good old way.
-the way of peaceableness and patience under the cross, is a good old way. ..the old christians took joyfully the spoiling of their goods.
-the way of brokenness and tenderness of heart is a good old way,
-the way of godly sorrow for sin.
(foot: in connection with this, the following observations by dr. doddridge..
some sense of sin and some serious and humbling apprehension of our danger and misery in consequence of it, must indeed be necessary
to dispose us to receive the grace of the gospel,
and the saviour who is there exhibited to our faith.
but God is pleased, sometimes,
to begin the work of His grace in the heart,
almost from the first dawning of reason,
and to carry it on by such gentle and insensible degrees.
that very excellent persons,
who have made the most eminent attainments
ion the divine life,
have been unable to recount any remarkable history of their conversion..
(note: i am certainly no 'excellent person' nor have any 'eminent attainments'
but the poor, wretched sinner before the cross of Christ that i am
takes a real 'bit of encouragement' from this one's assessment and observation.
i keep updating the 'date' of my salvation based upon what i see within and without,
...my hope is in Christ...and that my somewhat confusing experience with Him
is real. if it is not, i have no other hope and no other one i plan to turn to
...i will agonize to enter the narrow door, God helping me, to the moment i die.
thank God i am not without spiritual comfort,
but i'm way too short of fruit and works to rest easy in my 'position' in Christ.
my position, not anything else is my hope, but one day i will stand before Him
and have to answer for what i have DONE
not for what i felt, experienced or anything else.
may i show my love for Christ by my obedience to Him.)
-the way of brotherly kindness and love one to another is a good old way.
the way of unity and unanimity.
see how they LOVE one another was they old remark.
but now..what strangeness and distance....
oh, love this old religion;
strive to excel one another in good ways.
you have a cloud of witnesses.
you have Jesus Christ, who was a traveller in this way.
endeavour to make this new bad world
like the old good one.
there is a promise of a new heaven and a new earth.
be earnest with God to hasten it,
and endeavour, in your own practice to hasten its coming.
it must not be forgotten how ready he was,
nay, how studious and industrious,
to serve and oblige such as had been
in any way instruments of trouble to him,
as far as it lay in his power,
and he had any opportunity to do it;
so well had he learned that great lesson of forgiving and loving enemies...
..it was said of archbishop cranmer,
that the way to make him one's friend,
was to do him an unkindness;
...of another..once, going with some of his sons,
by the house of a gentleman that had been injurious to him,
he gave a charge to his sons to this purpose,
that they should never think of or speak amiss of that gentleman
for the sake of any thing he had done against him;
but whenever they went by his house,
should lift up their hears in prayer to God
for him and his family.
..in advising as to the government of the tongue,
he pressed commencement with the heart
..resolve, to take heed; but resolve in the strength of Christ.
be not hasty in speech.
commit the guidance of your tongue to God in prayer.
He is the maker of the tongue.
(foot:the heart is the scribe that indites matter;
the tongue is the pen that writes it down. psalm 45.1
the heart is as he that rides upon a horse;
the tongue is the horse that is ridden james 3.3
the heart is the pilot in the ship;
the tongue is the ship. james 3.4
the heart is the fountain;
words are as the streams. matthew 12.34
the heart is the treasury;
words are as stuff brought out of it. matthew 12.35
the heart is the root;
words are the fruit. proverbs 15.4
my thoughts of justifying faith and sincere repentance, are,
1. that they are choice gifts of God, ephesians, 2.8; acts 11.18
if He give not to us to believe and to repent,
we can neither believe nor repent;
and therefore, the want of them,
we are to ask them;
and if we ask,
He will give.
2. that they are the fruits of electing love.
those that were, from all eternity, given to Christ,
-to all those and to none but those,
it is in time given to believe, and repent. acts 13.48; john 6.37ohn 6.37; 12.39
if it be said, 'why doth He then find fault?
i should answer,
the decree is secret, which is concerning us,
but that is revealed which is our duty;
and to that we must attend.
3. that they are necessary conditions of pardon.
there may perhaps be such a notion framed of a condition,
as will by no means be applicable to them,
but..they are so required, that,
if we have them not,
our sin remains upon us. luke 13.3-5; john 3.36
if we have them, it is most certainly done away; I john 1.9; john 3.16;
not for their sake, but for Christ's sake.
4. that they are inseparable companions;
where one is, there is the other also.
he that says, 'i believe' and doth not repent,
presumes;
he that says, 'i repent' and doth not believe,
despairs.
FAITH IN CHRIST DOTH NOT JUSTIFY FROM SIN,
WHERE THERE IS NOT GODLY SORROW FOR SIN;
(foot: the motives to repentance are
the shortness of life, and uncertainty of the space for repentance rev. 2.21
the misery and danger of impenitency luke 13.3,5
the commands of God, acts 27.30-1
the goodness of God, romans 2.4
His readiness to forgive us upon our repentance. ps 86.5
the gospels gracious invitations of Jesus Christ matthew 3.2)
neither can sorrow for sin obtain pardon of it,
where there in not faith in Jesus Christ,
because His blood, alone,
cleanseth from all sin.
..self-abhorrency is always the companion of true repentance,
and it flows from a sight of god, in His purity and glory.
mine eye seeth Thee,therefore i abhor myself..
..(foot: there are various signs of uprightness of heart. proverbs 14.2
an upright heart fears the Lord 16.17
he departs from evil psalm 19.13
he is kept back from presumptuous sins 18.23
he is kept from his own iniquity and performs all duties luke 1.6-7
prov. 10.9
he walketh surely matthew 19.21
he is willing to part with any thing for Christ.
he is as good in secret as before others
he keeps a single eye at god's glory II corinthians 1.12
to get an upright heart, walk as always in God's sight I chronicles 38.9, genesis 17.1
it will be a comfort when you lie upon your death bed. isaiah 38.3)
in letter to his only son, matthew..
..it will not be long now ere we shall see you here,
(though multa cadunt inter) and,
i must not say, be filled with your company,
for this is not the world that we must be together in...
(foot: i find my heart inclined to things below,
and am sensible, in some measure,
what a dishonour it is to God, and
what a wrong to myself,
and fain (gladly, willingly) i would that it might be otherwise.
get to know the nature of earthly things,
common things,
such as a man may abound in
and perish everlastingly.
they are empty things,
that will not satisfy;
vexing things, vexation of spirit.
labour for a serious, practical knowledge of this.
beg of God to give you a sight of their vanity
and emptiness.
look into the word prov 23.5; isa. 55.2; matt. 6.24; john 6.27; I time. 9.9-10;
ecclesiastes.
observe and improve your own crosses and disappointments
and the crosses and disappointments of others.
the voice of these dispensations (order, system, arrangement) is.
cease from the world, the men of the world, the things of the world.
consult with dying men and see what account they will give you of earthly things.
actuate this knowledge by meditation and DO IT OFTEN.
there is no duty more profitable, -none more neglected.
study the nature and necessities of thy soul.
thou hast a soul that is greatly in want, a poor though precious soul;
it wants pardon of sin, wants peace with God,
wants His image, wants His grace, wants His spirit.
and can the world furnish these? no. mic.6.6-7
look beyond this to another world.
will these things avail there? no
tis not getting more, but making use of
what we have that will then avail. luke 16.9; II cor. 4.18
cast thy care upon the Lord;
if thou art a believer, He careth for thee. I pet. 5.7
be acquainted with the reality and excellence of heavenly things. heb. 11.1; john 4.10
earthly minded men are like moles, they live in the earth,
and so are blind as to spiritual things;
they see no beauty in holiness, no comeliness in Jesus Christ.
learn to spiritualize earthly things.
it is our sin and misery that earthly thoughts
mix themselves when we are employed in spiritual duties;
it were our profit and advantage if heavenly thoughts might as often mix themselves.
and be as welcome when we are employed in worldly affairs.
choose as much as may be to be in heavenly company.
company is of a transforming nature. prov. 22.24-5; I john 1.2-3
be often discoursing of things above.
labour to tread in the steps of those two have gone before us in heaven's way. phil, 3.17..
letter...
your continued kind acceptance is still my encouragement
to perform this monthly service to you,
wishing i could do it better
to your soul's advantage and edification.
the GRACE OF FAITH IS, indeed, THE GRACE OF ALL GRACES.
1. the grace that God hath most honoured in making it,
-whether the condition or the instrument,-
i am sure, the means of our
justification, reconciliation, acceptation, salvation.
of all graces, faith doth most abase the creature,
and lift up God;
it is self emptying and a God advancing grace;
and therefore, of all graces.
God doth most advance and lift
for so is the word that he hath spoken,
those that honour me, I will honour.
2. the grace that of all graces we do live by;
for the just shall live by faith, hab. 2.4;
than which, i think, there is scarce any on passage
in the old testament more often quoted in the new;
and good reason,
for it is the marrow of the gospel.
A. spiritual as to justification, sanctification, consolation;
in which three stands our spiritual life.
we are justified by faith, rom. 5.1; acts 13.39:
justified from the guilt of sin,
the curse of the law and the damnation of hell.
in the want of which justification,
we are but dead men,
that is, under a sentence of death;
so that in that sense, by faith we live;
we live by it as we are made just by it;
the just, by faith, shall live.
we are sanctified by faith, acts 24.18
as, by it we receive the spirit of sanctification,
who finds us dad in trespasses and sins,
as to our spiritual state,
and the breathes into us the breath of spiritual life,
whereby we become living souls,
alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
we are comforted by faith, rom. 15.13
and that comfort is our life, I thess. 3.8.
now we live, that is, now we are comforted,
if ye stand fast in the lord..
faith comforts as it applies the promises,
which promises are our breasts of consolation,
at which the believing soul sucks and is satisfied.
and there are two of them,
one concerning the things of the life that now is,
the other concerning the things of that which is to come;
for godliness hath both,
and hath need of both,
in order to comfort,
upon one occasion or other,
every day.
they are also called well springs of salvation
and, as such, faith is the bucket by which
we draw water from those wells.
if the well is deep, as good no well as no bucket;
so, as good no promise as no faith.
B. as we live spiritually by faith
(foot: spiritual life is an inward principle in the soul of a believer,
arising from his union with Jesus Christ.
the following are signs of such a life
the knowledge of God and Christ john 17.3
growth in grace and knowledge john 15.2
faith in Jesus Christ john 6.47
heavenly mindedness col. 3.1-2; rom. 6.11
spiritual sense
of sin , the first risings of it rom. 7.24
the sins of others. II pet. 2.7-8
of the withdrawings of God's presence ps. 22.1
of the afflictions of God's people jer 9.1; neh. 1.4; john 3.14
speech
to God in prayer gal. 4.6; acts 9.11; zech. 12.10
for God
appetite I pet. 2.2
care for self preservation job 2.4; comp. I pet. 2.7
desires to communicate, I john 1.1-3
art thou alive?
live at a higher rate than others i cor. 3.3
art thou dead?
make haste to Christ eph. 5.14
He complains
Ye will not come to Me that ye might have life john 5.40
for encouragement to come to Christ,
He raised three to life in the gospel
one in the chamber, secret sinners
another in the street, open sinners,
a third buried, dead four days, aged sinners
in all these three great concernments of our spiritual life,
so we live our life in the flesh
by the faith of the son of God gal. 2.20
He means His life of conversation in the world;
for, that is the life that He lived then in the flesh.
we walk by faith, not by sight,
-not as glorified saints do in heaven by immediate vision,
-nor by carnal sight, as the men of the world,
who look only at the the things that are seen with bodily eyes,
-but by faith.
so that faith is a principle of living
quite different from the one and from the other.
it is far short of living by heavenly vision,
but it is infinitely above and beyond
the live of carnal reason, which men, as men, live.
in the ordinary actions and affairs of life,
1. it is by faith and no otherwise that we
set the Lord always before us,
and see him that is invisible.
and what influence that hath upon the conversation,
to make it what it should be,
they can best tell that have tried.
2. it is by faith and no otherwise,
that we close with the word of God as our rule and square,
by which we regulate and order our conversation.
the commandments are to be believed, ps. 119.66,
as well as the promises.
3. it is by faith that we fetch strength from the lord Jesus,
for the doing of what we have to do every day in every thing,
for without Him we can do nothing
4. it is by faith that we look at the recompense of reward,
which makes us lively and cheerful in our obedience,
both active and passive;
forasmuch as we know our labour shall not be
in vain in the Lord.
and then for life eternal, as we look at it by faith,
so by faith it is that we have title to it;
he that believes shall be saved.
whosoever believes shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
we are all the children of god by faith in Jesus Chris.
and if children then heirs, heirs of god and joint heirs with Christ,
of an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.
(foot: there are evidences of saving faith.
faith, however, is the best evidence of itself I john 5.10
as we know the sun shines by its own light.
the following are evidences.
a new nature acts 26.18
heart purity 15.9
at least begun and laboured after.
a low esteem of earthly things phil. 3.8
a high esteem of Christ, I pet. 2.7
joy in tribulation, acts 16.25; rom 5.1-2; I pet 1.7; hab 3.17-8
reliance upon god for things of this life, as well as of heaven
how came we by our faith?
did it come by hearing? rom.10.17
did it begin in doubting? what fruit doth it bear? james 2.14; gal. 5.6
self denial luke 7.6,7,9
fear of offending
a true believer reckons it the hardest thing in the world to believe.)
if all this be true of faith,
and not the one half hath been told..
then there is good reason why it should be called precious faith.
it closes with a precious Christ,
and to them only that believe is He precious.
it embraces precious promises,
and it saves precious souls.
is Christ our all in all?
so, in a sense, is faith our all in all...
....letter...
yet further concerning the grace of faith.
besides that it is that by which we live,
as of Christ it is said, who is our life
so we may say of faith, in a different sense,
it is our life.
as paul says, to me to live is Christ;
so we may say, to us to live is to believe.
i say, besides this,
there are four great things said in scripture concerning faith.
which deserve a particular considerations.
1. it purifies the heart;
(foot: means are to be used to get and keep a pure heart.
we must be sensible of our impurity, prov 30.12
pray for a clean heart, ps 51
it is promised, ezek. 34.25-6
be frequent in self examination
beware of other men's sins, I tim. 5.22
abstain from all appearance of evil, i thess. 5.22-3
act faith. this is a heart purifying grace, acts 15.9
it interests us in the blood of Christ, and that cleanses, I john 1.7; zech 12.1
by it we receive the Spirit;
by it we apply the promises, II pet. 1.3-4
attend upon the ordinances, john 15.3; 17.17; titus 3.5
improve your baptism, it is a cleansing ordinance
affections, when sanctified, are means of cleansing.
watchfulness, ps. 119.9
we must take heed where we tread.
we are in the light and must walk as children of the light,
carefully; cleanly.
purifying their hearts by faith.
faith is a hear purifying grace, elsewhere called,
purging the conscience from dead words, heb. 9.14.
it is done by the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit,
offered himself without spot to God,
meritoriously, and by faith, instrumentally.
Christ's blood is the water of purification,
the true and only water,
and faith is as the bunch of hyssop, dipped in it,
and so purging the conscience,
that is, pacifying it in reference to the guilt contracted,
quieting the mind as to the pardon and forgiveness of it
before God,
which nothing else can do.
all the legal purifyings prescribed by the law of moses.
availed nothing as to this;
it is done by faith only, and, therefore,
the gentiles which is the scope of that place,
ought not to be obliged by circumcision to those ceremonial observances,
seeing there was another nearer, and better way
to that blessed end, and that was, by believing.
we may also, by purifying the heart,
understand the work of sanctification,
wherein faith is greatly instrumental;
but, i conceive the other the design of the place.
2. it works by love gal. 5.6
it is a working grace;
if it be idle, and work not,
it is not genuine faith.
and how works it?
by love.
love in the full extent and latitude of it;
the love of God,
and the love of our neighbour,
which two are the fulfilling of the law;
so that to work by love,
is to work by universal obedience,
which obedience is worth nothing further
than love hath a hand in it,
and love stirs not further
than faith acts it.
he that believes the love of Christ
for poor sinners, in dying for them,
with particular application to himself,
cannot but find his heart constrained thereby,
more or less, according as the belief is,
to love Him again and out of love to Him,
to keep His commandments.
do we find love cold?
it is because faith is weak.
do we love little?
our belief is little.
therefore, when a hard duty was enjoined,
which is that of loving and forgiving enemies,
-Lord, say the disciples, increase our faith;
intimating, without more faith, it would not be possible.
the more strongly and steadfastly we believe
that Christ loved us when we were enemies to Him,
the more frequently and freely, readily and cheerfully,
we shall forgive our brother,
who is become an enemy unto us.
3. it overcomes the world, I john 5.4.
this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.;
where, by world, is meant, especially,
its smiles and frowns;
they are both as nothing to us,
have no power or prevalency with us,
so as to draw or drive us from our christian course,
as long as we keep faith alive and active,
-either upon the past great things
that our great redeemer hath done and suffered for us;
or upon the future invisible realities of the other world ,
that crown and kingdom which He hath set before us,
and made over to us.
4. it quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked, ephesians 6.16;
that is, the devil and all his instruments;
all the temptations of what kind soever, wherewith,
as any time, they may assault us, they are quenched by faith,
loose their hurtful keenness, and wound us not.
but then that faith fust be not in habit only,
but in act and exercises;
as a shield, not hanging up,
but in the hand.
oh, that, to us, then, it might be given always to believe!
how much better would it be with us on this four-fold account,
had we more faith!
..to die profitably is a step beyond dying comforably;
i mean, to die so as to do good to those that are about us,
in dying.
to die so as to convince them of sin
and cxonvert them from it;
which is to die lie sampson,
who slew more philistines at his death,
than in all his life before.
we die profitably when our natural death is a means
of spiritual life to any.
he that doubts, droops, desponds,
calls all into question,
and dies so
rather frightens from, than allures to,
the love of religion and godliness.
what need have we then to pray, and pray again,
-Lord, increase our faith,-
that we may not only have wherewithal to live, while we live,
but wherewithal to die also, when we die!
'oaths are edged tools and not to be played with.'
in reference to his own improvement, his diary...
'covenants renewed in these particulars.
by the Lord's help, i purpose to be
more substantial in secret worship;
more sparing of precious time;
more constant in reading the scriptures alone,
and meditating upon them;
more careful to improve all opportunities of doing good to souls;
not taking, but seeking them;
less fearful about events when in a way of duty...
'when others are afflicted, we are to conclude
it is for trial,
when ourselves,
for sin.
and here it may be very pertinent to observe,
how industrious mr. henry was at this time,
when he and his friends suffered such
hard things form the government,
to preserve and promote a good affection
to the government notwithstanding.
it was commonly charged at that time
upon the nonconformists in general,
especially from the pulpits,
that they were all a factious and turbulent people,
as was said of old-ezra 4.15-
hurtful to kings and provinces
that their meetings were for the sowing of sedition and discontents..
but how peaceably they carried themselves,
is manifest to God, and in the consciences of many.
for an instance of it, it will not be amiss
to give some account of a sermon,
which mr. henry preached in some very private meetings,
such as were called seditious conventicles,
in the year 1669, when it was a day of treading down,
and of perplexity;
it was on that text, psalm 35.20.
against them that are quiet in the land.
whence (not to curry favour with rulers,
for whatever the sermon was,
the very preaching of it had been known.
must have been severely punished,
but purely out of conscience towards God)
he taught his friends this doctrine,-
that it is the character of the people of God,
that they are a quiet people in the land.
'this quietness he described to be an orderly,
peaceable subjection to governors and government in the Lord.
we must maintain a reverent esteem of them, and of their authority,
in opposition to despising dominion, II peter 2.10;
we must be meek, under severe commands, and burdensome impositions,
not murmuring and complaining, as the israelites against moses and aaron;
but take them up as our cross in our way,
and bear them as we do foul weather.
we must not speak evil of dignities, jude 8,
nor revile the gods, exodus 22.28.
paul checked himself for this, acts 23.5;
i did not consider it, if i had, i would not have said so.
we must not traduce their government,
as absalom did david's, II samuel 15.3.
great care is to be taken how we
speak of the faults of any, especially of rulers, eccl. 10.20.
(note: Lord, forgive me.)
the people of God do make the word of God their rule,
and by that they are taught.
1. that majesty is God's ordinance,
and magistrates God's ministers;
that by him kings reign,
and the powers that be are ordained of Him.
2. that they, as well as others,
are to have their dues, honour and fear and tribute.
3. that their lawful commands are to be obeyed,
and that readily and cheerfully, titus 3.1.
4. that the penalties inflicted for not obeying unlawful commands,
are patiently to be undergone.
this is the rule, and as many as walk according to this rule,
peace shall be upon them,
and there can be no danger of their unpeaceableness.
they are taught to pray for kings and all in authority, I tim. 2.1-2
and God forbid we should do otherwise;
yea, though they persecute, jeremiah 29.7.
peaceable prayers bespeak a peaceable people, psam 109.4.
if some professing religion have been unquiet,
their unquietness hath given the lie to their profession, jude, 7,11-2.
quietness is our badge, colossians 3.12.
it will be our strength, isaiah, 30.7,15.
our rejoicing in the day of evil, jeremiah, 18.18:
it is pleasing to God, I tim. 2.2-3:
it may work upon others, I peter, 2.12-3.
the means he prescribed for the keeping of us quiet,
were to get our hearts filled with
the knowledge and belief of these two things.
1. that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, job, 18.36;
many have thought otherwise, and it made them unquiet.
2. that the wrath of man
worketh not the righteousness of God, james 1.20;
he needs not our sin to bring to pass His own counsel.
we must mortify unquietness in the causes of it, james 4.1:
we must always remember the oath of God, eccl. 8.2:
the oath of allegiance is an oath of quietness.
and we must beware of the company
and converse of those that are unquiet. proverbs 22.24-5.
though deceitful matters be devised,
yet we must be quiet still;
nay, be so much the more quiet.
..he was..oft successful in persuading people
to recede from their right for peace sake;
and he would for that purpose tell them luther's story
of the two goats,
that met upon a narrow bridge over a deep water;
they could not go back, they durst not fight;
after a short parley,
one of them lay down, and let the other go over him,
and no harm was done.
(foot.. the moral is easy.
be content thy person be trod upon for peace sake.
thy person,k i say, not thy conscience. p.henry)
..his house at broad oak was by the road side,
which, though it had its inconveniencies,
yet, he would say, pleased him well,
because it gave his friends an opportunity of calling on him the oftener.
(foot: one of my dear father's remarks was this,-
that, though it be comfortable to have friends to visit, and comfort in them;
yet it is more to have a comfortable home; such as this world affords.
blessed be God for the remaining rest.
..the learned henry jessey could not 'brook fruitless visits
and wrote his mind concerning it over his studie door accordingly,
directions to all visitors.
no fruitless visits. no, nor speech.
for time is precious: hinder none.
let words be few,-good, then cease.
dispatch:-prepare for death. I'm/we're gone.
..he was very charitable to the poor, and was full of alms deeds,
which he did, not which he said he would do
or which he put others on to do,
but which he did himself,
dispersing abroad and giving to the poor,
seeking and rejoicing in opportunities of that kind.
and whenever he gave an alms for the body,
he usually gave with it a spiritual alms,
some good word of counsel, reproof, instruction, or comfort,
as there was occasion,k
and in accommodating these to the persons he spoke to,
he had a very great dexterity.
he was very forward to lend money freely
(foot: this was the practice of dr. hammond. it is said of a renowned nobleman,
that he would often give to labouring men
'good summes of money, making them beleeve
that hee did but lend it them;
and causing some about him to passe their words
for the repayment
when hee never meant to receive it again;
but did that as himself was wont
to tell us in policie to make them
continue their labour and to be good husbands.
to any of his poor neighbours that had occasion,
and would sometimes say,
that in many cases there was more charity
in lending than in giving,
because it obliged the borrower both to honesty and industry.
when one of his neighbours, to whom he had lent three pounds,
failed, so that he was never likely to see a farthing of it,
he writes thus upon it;
-notwithstanding this, yet still i judge it my duty to lend,
nothing despairing;
so dr. hammond reads it, luke 4.35.
though what is lent in charity be not repaid,
yet it is not lost.
when those that had borrowed money of him
paid him again,
he usually gave them back some part,
to encourage honesty.
he judged the taking of moderate interest for money lawful,
(foot: hr. henry has thus recorded the opinion of mr. baxter on this subject.
...'if usury be condemned, 'tis either by law of nature or some positive law.
if the former, then either as an act of impiety, injustice or unmercifulness.
that which can be proved to have any of these i am resolved against,
but there is some usury which i am not able to see any of these in,
nay, i think i could so lend on usury in some cases,
as might be as great an act of bounty or mercy as to give near half the money.
if it be forbidden by a positive law, then either of moses, or of Christ:
not of moses, for the mosaick law is abrogated,
though much of the matte of it be still in force,
-as the law of nature, and of Christ.
not of Christ, for where had Christ any such positive law?
on these grounds i speak against all unjust and unmerciful usury,
but i dare go no further, and yet i will justify none...')
where the borrower was in a way of gaining by it.
but he would advise his friends that had money,
rather to dispose of it otherwise if they could.
it must not be forgotten, how punctual and exact he was
in all his accounts with tenants, workmen, etc.
being always careful to keep such things in black and white,
as he used to say, which is the surest way to prevent mistakes,
and a man's wronging either himself or his neighbour;
such was his prudence, and such his patience and peaceableness,
that all the time he was at broad oak, he never sued any, nor ever was sued,
but was instrumental to prevent many a vexatious law suit among his neighbours.
he used to say,-
there are four rules to be duly observed in going to law;
1. we must not go to law for trifles, as he did who said,
he would rather spend a hundred pounds in law,
than lose a penny worth of his right, matthew 5.39-41.
2. we must not be rash and hasty in it,
but try all other means possible
to compose differences;
wherein he that yields most, as abraham did to lot,
is the better man and there is nothing lost by it in the end.
I corinthians, 6.1-2.
3. we must see that it be without malice, or desire of revenge.
if the undoing of our brother be the end of our going to law,
as it is with many,
it is a certain evil,
and it speeds accordingly.
4. it must be with a disposition to peace,
whenever it may be had,
and an ear open to all overtures of that kind..
he was an enemy to austerity of deportment
and much enjoyed the pleasures of social intercourse.
pest houses, he would say, always stand alone
and yet are full of infectious diseases.
solitariness is no infallible argument of sanctity.
(foot: it is a scandal that is cast upon religion
and the professors of it,
that they are unneighbourly and unsociable.
God Himself loves society,
He loves holy meetings,
Hew loves the communion of saints, the household of faith,
and His delight is to be with the sons of men,
and well approves that the sons of men
should be one with another,
yet so that He may not be excluded. )
it was against the EVILS of society his watchfulness was directed,
and these he uniformly endeavoured to counteract.
hence four rules he sometimes gave
to be observed in our converse with men.
1. have communion with few.
2. be familiar with one.
3. deal justly with all.
4. speak evil of none.
henry was a lover of good men,
and such always met a cordial welcome under his roof;
so that he would pleasantly say sometimes,
when he had his christian friends about him,
-He had room for 12 of them in his beds,
a hundred of them in his bar,
and a thousand of them in his heart.
nor was he unmindful of others;
for he spoke of it with pleasure,
that the situation of his house also
gave him an opportunity of being kind to strangers,
and such as were any way distressed upon the road,
to whom he was upon all occasions cheerfully ready,
fully answering the apostle's character of a bishop,
that he must be of good behaviour,
decent, affable, and obliging, -and given to hospitality;
I timothy 3.2;
like abraham, sitting at his tent door,
in quest of opportunities to do good.
if he met with any poor near his house,
and gave them alms in money,
yet he would bid them go to his door besides,
for relief there.
he was very tender and compassionate
towards poor strangers and travellers,
though his charity and candour were often
imposed upon by cheats and pretenders,
whom he was not apt to be suspicious of;
but would say, in the most favourable sense,
-thou knowest not the heart of a stranger.
if any asked his charity,
whose representation of their case he did not like,
or who he thought did amiss to take that course,
he would first give them an alms,
and then mildly reprove them;
and labour to convince them that
they were out of the way of duty.
and that they could not expect
that God should bless them in it;
and would not chide them,
but reason with them.
and he would say,
if he should tell them of their faults,
and not give them an alms,
the reproof would look
only like an excused to deny his charity
and would be rejected accordingly.
in a word, his greatest care about the things of this world was,
how to do good with what he had,
and to devise liberal things;
desiring to make no other accession to his estate,
but only that blessing which attends beneficence.
he did firmly believe and it should seem few do.
that what is given to the poor,
is lent to the Lord,
who will pay it again in kind or kindness;
and that religion and piety
are undoubtedly the best friend to outward prosperity,
and he found it so;
for it pleased God abundantly
to bless his habitation
and to make a hedge about him
and about his house.
and about all that he had round about.
and though he did not delight himself in the abundance of wealth;
yet, which is far better,
he delighted himself in the abundance of peace; psalm 37.11
all that he had and did,
observably prospered,
so that the country oftentimes took notice of it;
and called his family a family which the Lord had blessed.
..he used to say, that,
therefore many of the scripture parables and similitudes
are taken from the common actions of this life,
that when our hands are employed about them,
our hearts may the more easily pass through them
to divine and heavenly things.
..in the time of trouble and distress, by the conventicle act, in 1670,
he kept private and stirred little abroad, as loath to offend
those that were in power,
and judging it prudence to gather in his sails,
when the storm was violent.
he then observed, as that which he was troubled at,
'that there was a great deal of precious time lost among professors,
when they came together,
in discoursing on their adventures to meet, and their escapes,
which he feared tended more to set up self,
that to give glory to god.
also in telling how they got together and such a one preached,
but little inquiring what spiritual benefit and advantage
was reaped by it;
and that we are apt to make the circumstances of our religious services,
more a matter of our discourse,
than the substance of them.
...in those things wherein the people of God are agreed,
i will spend my zeal;
and wherein they differ,
i will endeavour to walk according to the light
that God hath given me,
and charitably believe that others do so too.
..in evil times it fares best with them
that are most careful about duty
and least about safety.
..Father, Thy will be done;
it is good for us to be at such uncertainties;
for now we receive our liberty from our father fresh every day,
which is best and sweetest of all.
..he that backbites with his tongue wounds four at once;
1. he wounds the good name of his neighbour,
which is dearer to him than the apple of his eye;
2. he wounds the name of god, religion suffers,
when those who profess it thus backbite each other
3. he wounds his own soul,
brings the guilt of great sin upon his own soul,
which he must certainly answer for;
4. he wounds love in him that hears it,
so that the esteem of his brother is lessened.
..did you gather food in harvest?
if aye, bless God;
if no, reflect with grief and shame and make peace,
and UP yet, AND BE DOING...
...look, what oyle is to the wheels,
what weights are to the clock,
what wings are to the bird,
what sailes are to the ship, -that FAITH is to all religious duties and services.
let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth,
but let not the thing formed, say to Him that formed it,
-why hast Thou made me thus?
..and as for the improvement of this affliction
(which, i hope, both of you earnestly desire,
for it is a great loss to lose such a providence,
and not to be made better by it,)
i conceive there are four lessons which it should teach you,
and they are good lessons,
and should be well learned,
for the advantage of them is unspeakable.
1. kings 12.18 art thou come to call my sins to remembrance, and to slay my son?
it is sin, sin that is the old kill-friend,
the jonah that hath raise this storm,
the achan that hath troubled your house;
then how should you grow in your hatred of it,
and endeavours against it,
that you may be the death of that which hath been the death of your dear children?
i say the DEATH of it,
for nothing less will satisfy the true penitent,
than the death of such a malefactor.
2.it should be a SPUR to you, to put you on in heaven's way;
it may be you were growing remiss in duty,
beginning to slack your former pace in religion,
and your heavenly Father saw it, and was grieved at it,
and sent this sad providence to be your monitor,
to tell you,
you should remember whence you are fallen,
and do your first works,
and be more humble and holy and heavenly,
self denying and watchful.,
abounding always in the work of the Lord.
3.you must learn by it,
as long as you live,
to keep your affections in due bounds towards creature comforts.
how hard it is to love and not to over love;
to delight in children or yoke fellows and not over delight;
now God is a jealous God
and will not give His glory to any other;
and our excess this way doth often provoke Him
to remove that mercy from us,
which we do thus make an idol of;
and our duty is to labour when He doth so,
to get that matter amended,
and to rejoice in all our enjoyments with trembling,
and as if we rejoiced not.
4. it should be a means of drawing your hearts and thought more upwards and homewards;
i mean your everlasting home,
you should be looking oftener now than before into the other world
i shall go to him, saith david,
when his little son was gone before.
it is yet but a little while ere all the things of time shall be swallowed up in eternity.
and the matter is not great whether we or our's die first,
while we are all dying;
in the midst of life we are in death;
-what manner of persons then ought we to be.
(looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of the Lord..)
now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God, even our Rather,
be your support..
and give you a name better than that of sons and daughters.
...'if i were to die in the pulpit,
i would desire to die preaching repentance;
as if i die out of the pulpit,
i would desire to die practicing repentance.
..he had often this saying concerning repentance.
HE THAT REPENTS EVERY DAY,
FOR THE SINS OF EVERY DAY,
WHEN HE COMES TO DIE,
WILL HAVE THE SINS OF BUT ONE DAY TO REPENT OF.
even reckonings make good friends.
..(henry had been fined unjustly for something)
it was much pressed upon him to pay the fine,
which might prevent his own loss and the justices trouble.
but he was not willing to do it,
partly, because he would give no encouragement to such prosecutions,
nor voluntarily reward the informers
for that which he thought they should
rather be punished for;
and partly because he though himself wronged in
the doubling of the fine
(in his journal he writes,
this refusal is thought and termed
contempt, stubbornness and what not.
but let God and the world judge.
it is supposed the easier they come by the fines,
the likelier they will be to come again.
besides, as yet, the general practice of
good people throughout the nation is to refuse payment,
and to suffer distress,
though it be found, for the most part,
to inflame the reckoning. )
whereupon his goods were distrained
(constrain by seizing, holding goods) upon,
and carried away;
in the doing of which many passages occurred
which might be worth the noting,
but, that the repetition of them would perhaps grate
and give offense to some.
let it therefore suffice,
waving the circumstances,
to remember only that their warrant,
not giving them authority to break open doors,
nor their watchfulness getting them an opportunity
to enter the house,
they carried away about 33 cart load of goods
without doors, corn cut upon the ground, hay, coals, etc.
this made a great noise int the country,
and raised the indignation of many against the decrees
which prescribed this grievousness;
while mr. henry bore it with his usual evenness
and serenity of mind,
not at all moved or disturbed by it.
he did not boast of his sufferings,
or make any great matter of them;
but would often say,
-alas, this is nothing to what others suffer,
nor to what we ourselves may suffer before we die!
and yet he rejoiced and blessed God
that it was not for debt or for evil doing,
that his goods were carried away.
and saith he, while it is for well doing that we suffer,
they cannot harm us.
..in his diary..
'how oft have we said that the changes are at the door;
but blessed by God,
there is no sting in this!
he frequently expressed the assurance he had,
that whatever damage he sustained,
-God is able to make it up again.
and as he used to say,
-though we may be losers for Christ,
yet we shall not be losers by Him in the end.
he had often said,
that his preaching was likely to do the most good,
when it was sealed to by suffering;
and if this be the time, saith he,
welcome the will of God...
appendix 15..
-the way of doctrinal faith is a good old way...we must try all doctrines by the scripture.
-the way of divine worship in all the ordinances, is a good old way..sabbath religion...continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
-the way of holiness and close walking is a god old way..enoch..walk with Him..
-the way of heavenly mindedness and contempt of the world, is a good old way...live like pilgrims..here today and gone tomorrow. ..is the world your portion..
-the way of plainness and simplicity is a good old way.
-the way of peaceableness and patience under the cross, is a good old way. ..the old christians took joyfully the spoiling of their goods.
-the way of brokenness and tenderness of heart is a good old way,
-the way of godly sorrow for sin.
(foot: in connection with this, the following observations by dr. doddridge..
some sense of sin and some serious and humbling apprehension of our danger and misery in consequence of it, must indeed be necessary
to dispose us to receive the grace of the gospel,
and the saviour who is there exhibited to our faith.
but God is pleased, sometimes,
to begin the work of His grace in the heart,
almost from the first dawning of reason,
and to carry it on by such gentle and insensible degrees.
that very excellent persons,
who have made the most eminent attainments
ion the divine life,
have been unable to recount any remarkable history of their conversion..
(note: i am certainly no 'excellent person' nor have any 'eminent attainments'
but the poor, wretched sinner before the cross of Christ that i am
takes a real 'bit of encouragement' from this one's assessment and observation.
i keep updating the 'date' of my salvation based upon what i see within and without,
...my hope is in Christ...and that my somewhat confusing experience with Him
is real. if it is not, i have no other hope and no other one i plan to turn to
...i will agonize to enter the narrow door, God helping me, to the moment i die.
thank God i am not without spiritual comfort,
but i'm way too short of fruit and works to rest easy in my 'position' in Christ.
my position, not anything else is my hope, but one day i will stand before Him
and have to answer for what i have DONE
not for what i felt, experienced or anything else.
may i show my love for Christ by my obedience to Him.)
-the way of brotherly kindness and love one to another is a good old way.
the way of unity and unanimity.
see how they LOVE one another was they old remark.
but now..what strangeness and distance....
oh, love this old religion;
strive to excel one another in good ways.
you have a cloud of witnesses.
you have Jesus Christ, who was a traveller in this way.
endeavour to make this new bad world
like the old good one.
there is a promise of a new heaven and a new earth.
be earnest with God to hasten it,
and endeavour, in your own practice to hasten its coming.
it must not be forgotten how ready he was,
nay, how studious and industrious,
to serve and oblige such as had been
in any way instruments of trouble to him,
as far as it lay in his power,
and he had any opportunity to do it;
so well had he learned that great lesson of forgiving and loving enemies...
..it was said of archbishop cranmer,
that the way to make him one's friend,
was to do him an unkindness;
...of another..once, going with some of his sons,
by the house of a gentleman that had been injurious to him,
he gave a charge to his sons to this purpose,
that they should never think of or speak amiss of that gentleman
for the sake of any thing he had done against him;
but whenever they went by his house,
should lift up their hears in prayer to God
for him and his family.
..in advising as to the government of the tongue,
he pressed commencement with the heart
..resolve, to take heed; but resolve in the strength of Christ.
be not hasty in speech.
commit the guidance of your tongue to God in prayer.
He is the maker of the tongue.
(foot:the heart is the scribe that indites matter;
the tongue is the pen that writes it down. psalm 45.1
the heart is as he that rides upon a horse;
the tongue is the horse that is ridden james 3.3
the heart is the pilot in the ship;
the tongue is the ship. james 3.4
the heart is the fountain;
words are as the streams. matthew 12.34
the heart is the treasury;
words are as stuff brought out of it. matthew 12.35
the heart is the root;
words are the fruit. proverbs 15.4
my thoughts of justifying faith and sincere repentance, are,
1. that they are choice gifts of God, ephesians, 2.8; acts 11.18
if He give not to us to believe and to repent,
we can neither believe nor repent;
and therefore, the want of them,
we are to ask them;
and if we ask,
He will give.
2. that they are the fruits of electing love.
those that were, from all eternity, given to Christ,
-to all those and to none but those,
it is in time given to believe, and repent. acts 13.48; john 6.37ohn 6.37; 12.39
if it be said, 'why doth He then find fault?
i should answer,
the decree is secret, which is concerning us,
but that is revealed which is our duty;
and to that we must attend.
3. that they are necessary conditions of pardon.
there may perhaps be such a notion framed of a condition,
as will by no means be applicable to them,
but..they are so required, that,
if we have them not,
our sin remains upon us. luke 13.3-5; john 3.36
if we have them, it is most certainly done away; I john 1.9; john 3.16;
not for their sake, but for Christ's sake.
4. that they are inseparable companions;
where one is, there is the other also.
he that says, 'i believe' and doth not repent,
presumes;
he that says, 'i repent' and doth not believe,
despairs.
FAITH IN CHRIST DOTH NOT JUSTIFY FROM SIN,
WHERE THERE IS NOT GODLY SORROW FOR SIN;
(foot: the motives to repentance are
the shortness of life, and uncertainty of the space for repentance rev. 2.21
the misery and danger of impenitency luke 13.3,5
the commands of God, acts 27.30-1
the goodness of God, romans 2.4
His readiness to forgive us upon our repentance. ps 86.5
the gospels gracious invitations of Jesus Christ matthew 3.2)
neither can sorrow for sin obtain pardon of it,
where there in not faith in Jesus Christ,
because His blood, alone,
cleanseth from all sin.
..self-abhorrency is always the companion of true repentance,
and it flows from a sight of god, in His purity and glory.
mine eye seeth Thee,therefore i abhor myself..
..(foot: there are various signs of uprightness of heart. proverbs 14.2
an upright heart fears the Lord 16.17
he departs from evil psalm 19.13
he is kept back from presumptuous sins 18.23
he is kept from his own iniquity and performs all duties luke 1.6-7
prov. 10.9
he walketh surely matthew 19.21
he is willing to part with any thing for Christ.
he is as good in secret as before others
he keeps a single eye at god's glory II corinthians 1.12
to get an upright heart, walk as always in God's sight I chronicles 38.9, genesis 17.1
it will be a comfort when you lie upon your death bed. isaiah 38.3)
in letter to his only son, matthew..
..it will not be long now ere we shall see you here,
(though multa cadunt inter) and,
i must not say, be filled with your company,
for this is not the world that we must be together in...
(foot: i find my heart inclined to things below,
and am sensible, in some measure,
what a dishonour it is to God, and
what a wrong to myself,
and fain (gladly, willingly) i would that it might be otherwise.
get to know the nature of earthly things,
common things,
such as a man may abound in
and perish everlastingly.
they are empty things,
that will not satisfy;
vexing things, vexation of spirit.
labour for a serious, practical knowledge of this.
beg of God to give you a sight of their vanity
and emptiness.
look into the word prov 23.5; isa. 55.2; matt. 6.24; john 6.27; I time. 9.9-10;
ecclesiastes.
observe and improve your own crosses and disappointments
and the crosses and disappointments of others.
the voice of these dispensations (order, system, arrangement) is.
cease from the world, the men of the world, the things of the world.
consult with dying men and see what account they will give you of earthly things.
actuate this knowledge by meditation and DO IT OFTEN.
there is no duty more profitable, -none more neglected.
study the nature and necessities of thy soul.
thou hast a soul that is greatly in want, a poor though precious soul;
it wants pardon of sin, wants peace with God,
wants His image, wants His grace, wants His spirit.
and can the world furnish these? no. mic.6.6-7
look beyond this to another world.
will these things avail there? no
tis not getting more, but making use of
what we have that will then avail. luke 16.9; II cor. 4.18
cast thy care upon the Lord;
if thou art a believer, He careth for thee. I pet. 5.7
be acquainted with the reality and excellence of heavenly things. heb. 11.1; john 4.10
earthly minded men are like moles, they live in the earth,
and so are blind as to spiritual things;
they see no beauty in holiness, no comeliness in Jesus Christ.
learn to spiritualize earthly things.
it is our sin and misery that earthly thoughts
mix themselves when we are employed in spiritual duties;
it were our profit and advantage if heavenly thoughts might as often mix themselves.
and be as welcome when we are employed in worldly affairs.
choose as much as may be to be in heavenly company.
company is of a transforming nature. prov. 22.24-5; I john 1.2-3
be often discoursing of things above.
labour to tread in the steps of those two have gone before us in heaven's way. phil, 3.17..
letter...
your continued kind acceptance is still my encouragement
to perform this monthly service to you,
wishing i could do it better
to your soul's advantage and edification.
the GRACE OF FAITH IS, indeed, THE GRACE OF ALL GRACES.
1. the grace that God hath most honoured in making it,
-whether the condition or the instrument,-
i am sure, the means of our
justification, reconciliation, acceptation, salvation.
of all graces, faith doth most abase the creature,
and lift up God;
it is self emptying and a God advancing grace;
and therefore, of all graces.
God doth most advance and lift
for so is the word that he hath spoken,
those that honour me, I will honour.
2. the grace that of all graces we do live by;
for the just shall live by faith, hab. 2.4;
than which, i think, there is scarce any on passage
in the old testament more often quoted in the new;
and good reason,
for it is the marrow of the gospel.
A. spiritual as to justification, sanctification, consolation;
in which three stands our spiritual life.
we are justified by faith, rom. 5.1; acts 13.39:
justified from the guilt of sin,
the curse of the law and the damnation of hell.
in the want of which justification,
we are but dead men,
that is, under a sentence of death;
so that in that sense, by faith we live;
we live by it as we are made just by it;
the just, by faith, shall live.
we are sanctified by faith, acts 24.18
as, by it we receive the spirit of sanctification,
who finds us dad in trespasses and sins,
as to our spiritual state,
and the breathes into us the breath of spiritual life,
whereby we become living souls,
alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
we are comforted by faith, rom. 15.13
and that comfort is our life, I thess. 3.8.
now we live, that is, now we are comforted,
if ye stand fast in the lord..
faith comforts as it applies the promises,
which promises are our breasts of consolation,
at which the believing soul sucks and is satisfied.
and there are two of them,
one concerning the things of the life that now is,
the other concerning the things of that which is to come;
for godliness hath both,
and hath need of both,
in order to comfort,
upon one occasion or other,
every day.
they are also called well springs of salvation
and, as such, faith is the bucket by which
we draw water from those wells.
if the well is deep, as good no well as no bucket;
so, as good no promise as no faith.
B. as we live spiritually by faith
(foot: spiritual life is an inward principle in the soul of a believer,
arising from his union with Jesus Christ.
the following are signs of such a life
the knowledge of God and Christ john 17.3
growth in grace and knowledge john 15.2
faith in Jesus Christ john 6.47
heavenly mindedness col. 3.1-2; rom. 6.11
spiritual sense
of sin , the first risings of it rom. 7.24
the sins of others. II pet. 2.7-8
of the withdrawings of God's presence ps. 22.1
of the afflictions of God's people jer 9.1; neh. 1.4; john 3.14
speech
to God in prayer gal. 4.6; acts 9.11; zech. 12.10
for God
appetite I pet. 2.2
care for self preservation job 2.4; comp. I pet. 2.7
desires to communicate, I john 1.1-3
art thou alive?
live at a higher rate than others i cor. 3.3
art thou dead?
make haste to Christ eph. 5.14
He complains
Ye will not come to Me that ye might have life john 5.40
for encouragement to come to Christ,
He raised three to life in the gospel
one in the chamber, secret sinners
another in the street, open sinners,
a third buried, dead four days, aged sinners
in all these three great concernments of our spiritual life,
so we live our life in the flesh
by the faith of the son of God gal. 2.20
He means His life of conversation in the world;
for, that is the life that He lived then in the flesh.
we walk by faith, not by sight,
-not as glorified saints do in heaven by immediate vision,
-nor by carnal sight, as the men of the world,
who look only at the the things that are seen with bodily eyes,
-but by faith.
so that faith is a principle of living
quite different from the one and from the other.
it is far short of living by heavenly vision,
but it is infinitely above and beyond
the live of carnal reason, which men, as men, live.
in the ordinary actions and affairs of life,
1. it is by faith and no otherwise that we
set the Lord always before us,
and see him that is invisible.
and what influence that hath upon the conversation,
to make it what it should be,
they can best tell that have tried.
2. it is by faith and no otherwise,
that we close with the word of God as our rule and square,
by which we regulate and order our conversation.
the commandments are to be believed, ps. 119.66,
as well as the promises.
3. it is by faith that we fetch strength from the lord Jesus,
for the doing of what we have to do every day in every thing,
for without Him we can do nothing
4. it is by faith that we look at the recompense of reward,
which makes us lively and cheerful in our obedience,
both active and passive;
forasmuch as we know our labour shall not be
in vain in the Lord.
and then for life eternal, as we look at it by faith,
so by faith it is that we have title to it;
he that believes shall be saved.
whosoever believes shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
we are all the children of god by faith in Jesus Chris.
and if children then heirs, heirs of god and joint heirs with Christ,
of an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.
(foot: there are evidences of saving faith.
faith, however, is the best evidence of itself I john 5.10
as we know the sun shines by its own light.
the following are evidences.
a new nature acts 26.18
heart purity 15.9
at least begun and laboured after.
a low esteem of earthly things phil. 3.8
a high esteem of Christ, I pet. 2.7
joy in tribulation, acts 16.25; rom 5.1-2; I pet 1.7; hab 3.17-8
reliance upon god for things of this life, as well as of heaven
how came we by our faith?
did it come by hearing? rom.10.17
did it begin in doubting? what fruit doth it bear? james 2.14; gal. 5.6
self denial luke 7.6,7,9
fear of offending
a true believer reckons it the hardest thing in the world to believe.)
if all this be true of faith,
and not the one half hath been told..
then there is good reason why it should be called precious faith.
it closes with a precious Christ,
and to them only that believe is He precious.
it embraces precious promises,
and it saves precious souls.
is Christ our all in all?
so, in a sense, is faith our all in all...
....letter...
yet further concerning the grace of faith.
besides that it is that by which we live,
as of Christ it is said, who is our life
so we may say of faith, in a different sense,
it is our life.
as paul says, to me to live is Christ;
so we may say, to us to live is to believe.
i say, besides this,
there are four great things said in scripture concerning faith.
which deserve a particular considerations.
1. it purifies the heart;
(foot: means are to be used to get and keep a pure heart.
we must be sensible of our impurity, prov 30.12
pray for a clean heart, ps 51
it is promised, ezek. 34.25-6
be frequent in self examination
beware of other men's sins, I tim. 5.22
abstain from all appearance of evil, i thess. 5.22-3
act faith. this is a heart purifying grace, acts 15.9
it interests us in the blood of Christ, and that cleanses, I john 1.7; zech 12.1
by it we receive the Spirit;
by it we apply the promises, II pet. 1.3-4
attend upon the ordinances, john 15.3; 17.17; titus 3.5
improve your baptism, it is a cleansing ordinance
affections, when sanctified, are means of cleansing.
watchfulness, ps. 119.9
we must take heed where we tread.
we are in the light and must walk as children of the light,
carefully; cleanly.
purifying their hearts by faith.
faith is a hear purifying grace, elsewhere called,
purging the conscience from dead words, heb. 9.14.
it is done by the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit,
offered himself without spot to God,
meritoriously, and by faith, instrumentally.
Christ's blood is the water of purification,
the true and only water,
and faith is as the bunch of hyssop, dipped in it,
and so purging the conscience,
that is, pacifying it in reference to the guilt contracted,
quieting the mind as to the pardon and forgiveness of it
before God,
which nothing else can do.
all the legal purifyings prescribed by the law of moses.
availed nothing as to this;
it is done by faith only, and, therefore,
the gentiles which is the scope of that place,
ought not to be obliged by circumcision to those ceremonial observances,
seeing there was another nearer, and better way
to that blessed end, and that was, by believing.
we may also, by purifying the heart,
understand the work of sanctification,
wherein faith is greatly instrumental;
but, i conceive the other the design of the place.
2. it works by love gal. 5.6
it is a working grace;
if it be idle, and work not,
it is not genuine faith.
and how works it?
by love.
love in the full extent and latitude of it;
the love of God,
and the love of our neighbour,
which two are the fulfilling of the law;
so that to work by love,
is to work by universal obedience,
which obedience is worth nothing further
than love hath a hand in it,
and love stirs not further
than faith acts it.
he that believes the love of Christ
for poor sinners, in dying for them,
with particular application to himself,
cannot but find his heart constrained thereby,
more or less, according as the belief is,
to love Him again and out of love to Him,
to keep His commandments.
do we find love cold?
it is because faith is weak.
do we love little?
our belief is little.
therefore, when a hard duty was enjoined,
which is that of loving and forgiving enemies,
-Lord, say the disciples, increase our faith;
intimating, without more faith, it would not be possible.
the more strongly and steadfastly we believe
that Christ loved us when we were enemies to Him,
the more frequently and freely, readily and cheerfully,
we shall forgive our brother,
who is become an enemy unto us.
3. it overcomes the world, I john 5.4.
this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.;
where, by world, is meant, especially,
its smiles and frowns;
they are both as nothing to us,
have no power or prevalency with us,
so as to draw or drive us from our christian course,
as long as we keep faith alive and active,
-either upon the past great things
that our great redeemer hath done and suffered for us;
or upon the future invisible realities of the other world ,
that crown and kingdom which He hath set before us,
and made over to us.
4. it quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked, ephesians 6.16;
that is, the devil and all his instruments;
all the temptations of what kind soever, wherewith,
as any time, they may assault us, they are quenched by faith,
loose their hurtful keenness, and wound us not.
but then that faith fust be not in habit only,
but in act and exercises;
as a shield, not hanging up,
but in the hand.
oh, that, to us, then, it might be given always to believe!
how much better would it be with us on this four-fold account,
had we more faith!
..to die profitably is a step beyond dying comforably;
i mean, to die so as to do good to those that are about us,
in dying.
to die so as to convince them of sin
and cxonvert them from it;
which is to die lie sampson,
who slew more philistines at his death,
than in all his life before.
we die profitably when our natural death is a means
of spiritual life to any.
he that doubts, droops, desponds,
calls all into question,
and dies so
rather frightens from, than allures to,
the love of religion and godliness.
what need have we then to pray, and pray again,
-Lord, increase our faith,-
that we may not only have wherewithal to live, while we live,
but wherewithal to die also, when we die!
2.24.2013 DO NOT BE EXCESSIVELY RIGHTEOUS
AND DO NOT BE OVERLY WISE. WHY SHOULD YOU RUIN YOURSELF? ecclesiastes 7.16
i, more and more, ask myself, 'why do you insist in going around twisting people's arms about 'spiritual' issues? did God leave you on earth to be the Judge of everyone, the Great One who goes around telling everyone where they are wrong and what to do? mo
i, more and more, ask myself, 'why do you insist in going around twisting people's arms about 'spiritual' issues? did God leave you on earth to be the Judge of everyone, the Great One who goes around telling everyone where they are wrong and what to do? mo
Sunday, February 24, 2013
2.24.2013 MY TRAIN WRECK CONVERSION
...found in christianity today, january/february 2013. p112..
as a leftist lesbian professor, i despised christians. then somehow i became one.
rosaria champagne butterfield
the word JESUS stuck in my throat like an elephant tusk; no matter how hard i choked, i couldn't hack it out. those who professed the name commanded my pity and wrath. as a university professor, i tired of students who seemed to believe that 'knowing Jesus' meant knowing little else. christians in
particular were bad readers, always seizing opportunities to insert a bible verse into a conversation with the same point as a punctuation mark: to end it rather than deepen it.
Stupid. Pointless. Menacing. that's what i thought of christians and their god Jesus, who in paintings looked as powerful as a breck shampoo commercial model.
as a professor of english and women's studies, on the track to becoming a tenured radical, i cared about morality, justice and compassion. fervent for the worldviews of freud, hegel, marx and darwin, i strove to stand with the disempowered. i valued morality. and i probably could have stomached Jesus and his band of warriors if it weren't for how other cultural forces buttressed the christian right. pat robertson's quip from the 1992 republican national convention pushed me over the edge: 'feminism, he sneered, encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians'.
indeed. the surround sound of christian dogma commingling with republican politics demanded my attention.
after my tenure book was published, i used my post to advance the understandable allegiances of a leftist lesbian professor. my life was happy, meaningful, and full. my partner and i shared many vital interests: AIDS, activism, children's health and literacy, golden retriever rescue, our unitarian universalist church, to name a few. even if you believed the ghost stories promulgated by robertson and his ilk, it was hard to argue that my partner and i were anything but good citizens and caregivers. the GLBT community values hospitality and applies it with skill, sacrifice and integrity.
i began researching the religious right and their politics of hatred against queers like me. to do this, i would need to read the one book that had, in my estimation, gotten so many people off track: the bible. while on the lookout for some bible scholar to aid me in my research, i launched my first attack on the unholy trinity of Jesus, republican politics and patriarchy, in the form of an article in the local newspaper about Promise Keepers. it was 1997.
the article generated many rejoinders, so many that i kept a xerox box on each side of my desk: one for hate mail, one for fan mail. but one letter i received defied my filing system. it was from the pastor of the syracuse reformed presbyterian church. it was a kind and inquiring letter. ken smith encouraged me to explore the kind of questions i admire:
how did you arrive at your interpretations?
how do you know you are right?
do you believe in God?
ken didn't argue with my article; rather, he asked me to defend the presuppositions that undergirded it. i didn't know how to respond to it, so i threw it away.
later that night, i fished it out of the recycling bin and put it back on my desk, where it stared at me for a week, confronting me with the worldview divide that demanded a response. as a postmodern intellectual, i operated from a historical materialist worldview. ken's letter punctured the integrity of my research project without him knowing it.
with the letter, ken initiated two years of bringing the church to me, a heathen. oh, i had seen my share of bible verses on placards at gay pride marches. that christians who mocked me on gay pride day were happy that i and everyone i loved were going to hell was clear as blue sky. that is not what ken did. he did not mock. he engaged. so when his letter invited me top bet together for dinner, i accepted. my motives at the time were straightforward: surely this will be good for my research.
something else happened. ken and his wife, floy, and i became friends. they entered my world. they met my friends. we did book exchanges. we talked openly about sexuality and politics. they did not act as if such conversations were polluting them. they did not treat me like a blank slate. when we ate together, ken prayed in a way i had never heard before. his prayers were intimate, vulnerable. he repented of his sin in front of me. he thanked God for all things. ken's God was holy and firm, yet full of mercy. and because ken and floy did not invite me to church, i knew it was safe to be friends.
i started reading the bible. i read the way a glutton devours. i read it many times that first year in multiple translations. at a dinner gathering my partner and i were hosting, my transgendered friend J cornered me in the kitchen. she put her large hand over mine. 'this bible reading is changing you, rosaria, she warned.
with tremors, i whispered, 'J, what if it is true? what if Jesus is a real and risen Lord? what if we are all in trouble?'
J exhaled deeply. 'rosaria, she said, i was a presbyterian minister for 15 years. i prayed that God would heal me, but he didn't. if you want, i will pray for you.
i continued reading the bible, all the while fighting the idea that it was inspired. but the bible got to be bigger inside me than i. it overflowed into my world. i fought against it with all my might. then, one sunday morning, i rose from the bed of my lesbian lover, and an hour later sat in a pew at the syracuse reformed presbyterian
i fought with everything i had.
i did not want this.
i did not ask for this.
i counted the costs. and i did not like the math on the other side of the equal sign.
but God's promises rolled in like sets of waves into my world. one Lord's day, ken preached on john 7.17: 'if anyone wills to do (God's) will, he hall know concerning the doctrine' (nkjv) this verse exposed the quicksand in which my feet were stuck. i was a thinker. i was paid to read books and write about them. i expected that in all areas of life, understanding came BEFORE obedience. and i wanted God to show me, on my terms, why homosexuality was a sin. i wanted to be the judge, not one being judged.
but the verse promised understanding after obedience. i wrestled with the question: did i really want to understand homosexuality from God's point of view or did i just want to argue with him? i prayed that night that God would give me the willingness to obey before i understood. i prayed long into the unfolding of day. when i looked in the mirror, i looked the same, but when i looked into my heart through the lens of the bible, i wondered, AM I A LESBIAN, OR HAS THIS ALL BEEN A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY? IF JESUS COULD SPLIT THE WORLD ASUNDER, DIVIDE MARROW FROM SOUL, COULD HE MAKE MY TRUE IDENTITY PREVAIL? WHO AM I?
WHO WILL GOD HAVE ME TO BE?
then, one ordinary day, i came to Jesus, openhanded and naked. in this war of worldviews, ken was there, floy was there. the church that had been praying for me for years was there. Jesus triumphed. and i was a broken mess. conversion was a train wreck. i did not want to lose everything that i loved. but the voice of God sang a sanguine love song in the rubble of my world. i weakly believed that if Jesus could conquer death, he could make right my world. i drank, tentatively at first, then passionately, of the solace of the Holy Spirit. i rested in private peace, then community and today in the shelter of a covenant family, where one calls me 'wife' and many call me 'mother'.
i have not forgotten the blood Jesus surrendered for this life.
and my former life lurks in the edges of my heart, shiny and still like a knife.
rosaria champagne butterfield is the author of 'the secret thought of an unlikely convert (crown and covenant). she lives with her family in durham, north carolina, where her husband pastors the first reformed presbyterian church of durham.
as a leftist lesbian professor, i despised christians. then somehow i became one.
rosaria champagne butterfield
the word JESUS stuck in my throat like an elephant tusk; no matter how hard i choked, i couldn't hack it out. those who professed the name commanded my pity and wrath. as a university professor, i tired of students who seemed to believe that 'knowing Jesus' meant knowing little else. christians in
particular were bad readers, always seizing opportunities to insert a bible verse into a conversation with the same point as a punctuation mark: to end it rather than deepen it.
Stupid. Pointless. Menacing. that's what i thought of christians and their god Jesus, who in paintings looked as powerful as a breck shampoo commercial model.
as a professor of english and women's studies, on the track to becoming a tenured radical, i cared about morality, justice and compassion. fervent for the worldviews of freud, hegel, marx and darwin, i strove to stand with the disempowered. i valued morality. and i probably could have stomached Jesus and his band of warriors if it weren't for how other cultural forces buttressed the christian right. pat robertson's quip from the 1992 republican national convention pushed me over the edge: 'feminism, he sneered, encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians'.
indeed. the surround sound of christian dogma commingling with republican politics demanded my attention.
after my tenure book was published, i used my post to advance the understandable allegiances of a leftist lesbian professor. my life was happy, meaningful, and full. my partner and i shared many vital interests: AIDS, activism, children's health and literacy, golden retriever rescue, our unitarian universalist church, to name a few. even if you believed the ghost stories promulgated by robertson and his ilk, it was hard to argue that my partner and i were anything but good citizens and caregivers. the GLBT community values hospitality and applies it with skill, sacrifice and integrity.
i began researching the religious right and their politics of hatred against queers like me. to do this, i would need to read the one book that had, in my estimation, gotten so many people off track: the bible. while on the lookout for some bible scholar to aid me in my research, i launched my first attack on the unholy trinity of Jesus, republican politics and patriarchy, in the form of an article in the local newspaper about Promise Keepers. it was 1997.
the article generated many rejoinders, so many that i kept a xerox box on each side of my desk: one for hate mail, one for fan mail. but one letter i received defied my filing system. it was from the pastor of the syracuse reformed presbyterian church. it was a kind and inquiring letter. ken smith encouraged me to explore the kind of questions i admire:
how did you arrive at your interpretations?
how do you know you are right?
do you believe in God?
ken didn't argue with my article; rather, he asked me to defend the presuppositions that undergirded it. i didn't know how to respond to it, so i threw it away.
later that night, i fished it out of the recycling bin and put it back on my desk, where it stared at me for a week, confronting me with the worldview divide that demanded a response. as a postmodern intellectual, i operated from a historical materialist worldview. ken's letter punctured the integrity of my research project without him knowing it.
with the letter, ken initiated two years of bringing the church to me, a heathen. oh, i had seen my share of bible verses on placards at gay pride marches. that christians who mocked me on gay pride day were happy that i and everyone i loved were going to hell was clear as blue sky. that is not what ken did. he did not mock. he engaged. so when his letter invited me top bet together for dinner, i accepted. my motives at the time were straightforward: surely this will be good for my research.
something else happened. ken and his wife, floy, and i became friends. they entered my world. they met my friends. we did book exchanges. we talked openly about sexuality and politics. they did not act as if such conversations were polluting them. they did not treat me like a blank slate. when we ate together, ken prayed in a way i had never heard before. his prayers were intimate, vulnerable. he repented of his sin in front of me. he thanked God for all things. ken's God was holy and firm, yet full of mercy. and because ken and floy did not invite me to church, i knew it was safe to be friends.
i started reading the bible. i read the way a glutton devours. i read it many times that first year in multiple translations. at a dinner gathering my partner and i were hosting, my transgendered friend J cornered me in the kitchen. she put her large hand over mine. 'this bible reading is changing you, rosaria, she warned.
with tremors, i whispered, 'J, what if it is true? what if Jesus is a real and risen Lord? what if we are all in trouble?'
J exhaled deeply. 'rosaria, she said, i was a presbyterian minister for 15 years. i prayed that God would heal me, but he didn't. if you want, i will pray for you.
i continued reading the bible, all the while fighting the idea that it was inspired. but the bible got to be bigger inside me than i. it overflowed into my world. i fought against it with all my might. then, one sunday morning, i rose from the bed of my lesbian lover, and an hour later sat in a pew at the syracuse reformed presbyterian
i fought with everything i had.
i did not want this.
i did not ask for this.
i counted the costs. and i did not like the math on the other side of the equal sign.
but God's promises rolled in like sets of waves into my world. one Lord's day, ken preached on john 7.17: 'if anyone wills to do (God's) will, he hall know concerning the doctrine' (nkjv) this verse exposed the quicksand in which my feet were stuck. i was a thinker. i was paid to read books and write about them. i expected that in all areas of life, understanding came BEFORE obedience. and i wanted God to show me, on my terms, why homosexuality was a sin. i wanted to be the judge, not one being judged.
but the verse promised understanding after obedience. i wrestled with the question: did i really want to understand homosexuality from God's point of view or did i just want to argue with him? i prayed that night that God would give me the willingness to obey before i understood. i prayed long into the unfolding of day. when i looked in the mirror, i looked the same, but when i looked into my heart through the lens of the bible, i wondered, AM I A LESBIAN, OR HAS THIS ALL BEEN A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY? IF JESUS COULD SPLIT THE WORLD ASUNDER, DIVIDE MARROW FROM SOUL, COULD HE MAKE MY TRUE IDENTITY PREVAIL? WHO AM I?
WHO WILL GOD HAVE ME TO BE?
then, one ordinary day, i came to Jesus, openhanded and naked. in this war of worldviews, ken was there, floy was there. the church that had been praying for me for years was there. Jesus triumphed. and i was a broken mess. conversion was a train wreck. i did not want to lose everything that i loved. but the voice of God sang a sanguine love song in the rubble of my world. i weakly believed that if Jesus could conquer death, he could make right my world. i drank, tentatively at first, then passionately, of the solace of the Holy Spirit. i rested in private peace, then community and today in the shelter of a covenant family, where one calls me 'wife' and many call me 'mother'.
i have not forgotten the blood Jesus surrendered for this life.
and my former life lurks in the edges of my heart, shiny and still like a knife.
rosaria champagne butterfield is the author of 'the secret thought of an unlikely convert (crown and covenant). she lives with her family in durham, north carolina, where her husband pastors the first reformed presbyterian church of durham.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
2.21.2013 GOD FOCUS VS SELF FOCUS
the following is taken from world magazine 2.23.2013, p79...
..the biggest battle is in the thought life.
in a sense there is no other life than the thought life.
the renewal of the mind effects transformation. romans 12.2
-not abstractly, but in the conscious dimension.
it involves our cooperation and is not a passive work of God
apart from that cooperation.
'kin all your ways acknowledge Him
and He shall direct your paths. proverbs 3.6
i'm no king david, but king david messed up regarding his children,
where i also failed.
he suffered greatly in his private moments.
i can tell.
and we have many words from david left to posterity,
but I LOOK IN VAIN FOR SIGNS OF MORBID
PICKING AT SCABS.
by contrast, at christmastime
i gave my daughter a book of poetry..
and most of them were an obsessive raking over the coals
of an old divorce.
david's deathbed words II samuel 23; I chronicles 28
bare NO HINT OF SELF FLAGELLATION
BUT ARE FULL OF WORSHIP.
his gaze lifted upward,
he speaks of 'the rock ofIsrael',
and the beauty of (His) justice
'like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth'
-revelatory of a man who has learned
how to talk his soul back to joy by meditating on
things eternal rather than temporal.
i was struck by this... the example of david.
is he the man in the bible who takes the prize
for having the most sins revealed to the world by God?
he would be my guess.
i used to think that this was because
God said of him, and no one else,
that he was a man after God's heart..
and God wanted to encourage each person who read
that no matter how many times they sin,
if they follow david as he followed God,
they too could be very intimate with
and very pleasing to God.
but having read this today
i am led to think of another possible reason...
that when he confessed each sin to God
(the most famous confession,
being psalm 51,
where he confesses committing adultery with bathsheba
and then making sure that her husband uriah
was killed in battle against the ammonities)
he not only BELIEVED the truth we read in I john 1.9,
'that if we confess our sin,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness',
BUT HE BELIEVED IT
TO THE DEGREE THAT
in his mind and heart HIS SIN
WAS
INDEED
G-O-N-E
not to be thought of
(are we to think of what God does not?)
never to be spoken of again,
never to be bemoaned,
totally gone.
why? i am thinking that maybe he treated his sin this way
because he knew that God treated it this way.
..'buried under the deepest sea...
as far as the east from the west...
never to be remembered against him any more!
...and why should he besmear or doubt
what God said He did?
this is specially precious to me.
for it has increasingly come to me,
sometime from my friend ray,
that i am constantly bemoaning my sin and
bringing to remembrance my sin
and, now with sorrow i am now realizing
that i have, in a sense, been publicly
broadcasting to everyone who hears,
that i do not believe what God says.
for if i did i would not disgrace Him
by talking, or even thinking about
that which is GONE as far as He is concerned.
done by His 'hand', as it were.
so with God's help
from this day
i hope never again
to think
talk
or write
of even one of my sins,
once confessed and forsaken
a simple way of saying,
THANK YOU
I BELIEVE YO
..the biggest battle is in the thought life.
in a sense there is no other life than the thought life.
the renewal of the mind effects transformation. romans 12.2
-not abstractly, but in the conscious dimension.
it involves our cooperation and is not a passive work of God
apart from that cooperation.
'kin all your ways acknowledge Him
and He shall direct your paths. proverbs 3.6
i'm no king david, but king david messed up regarding his children,
where i also failed.
he suffered greatly in his private moments.
i can tell.
and we have many words from david left to posterity,
but I LOOK IN VAIN FOR SIGNS OF MORBID
PICKING AT SCABS.
by contrast, at christmastime
i gave my daughter a book of poetry..
and most of them were an obsessive raking over the coals
of an old divorce.
david's deathbed words II samuel 23; I chronicles 28
bare NO HINT OF SELF FLAGELLATION
BUT ARE FULL OF WORSHIP.
his gaze lifted upward,
he speaks of 'the rock ofIsrael',
and the beauty of (His) justice
'like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth'
-revelatory of a man who has learned
how to talk his soul back to joy by meditating on
things eternal rather than temporal.
i was struck by this... the example of david.
is he the man in the bible who takes the prize
for having the most sins revealed to the world by God?
he would be my guess.
i used to think that this was because
God said of him, and no one else,
that he was a man after God's heart..
and God wanted to encourage each person who read
that no matter how many times they sin,
if they follow david as he followed God,
they too could be very intimate with
and very pleasing to God.
but having read this today
i am led to think of another possible reason...
that when he confessed each sin to God
(the most famous confession,
being psalm 51,
where he confesses committing adultery with bathsheba
and then making sure that her husband uriah
was killed in battle against the ammonities)
he not only BELIEVED the truth we read in I john 1.9,
'that if we confess our sin,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness',
BUT HE BELIEVED IT
TO THE DEGREE THAT
in his mind and heart HIS SIN
WAS
INDEED
G-O-N-E
not to be thought of
(are we to think of what God does not?)
never to be spoken of again,
never to be bemoaned,
totally gone.
why? i am thinking that maybe he treated his sin this way
because he knew that God treated it this way.
..'buried under the deepest sea...
as far as the east from the west...
never to be remembered against him any more!
...and why should he besmear or doubt
what God said He did?
this is specially precious to me.
for it has increasingly come to me,
sometime from my friend ray,
that i am constantly bemoaning my sin and
bringing to remembrance my sin
and, now with sorrow i am now realizing
that i have, in a sense, been publicly
broadcasting to everyone who hears,
that i do not believe what God says.
for if i did i would not disgrace Him
by talking, or even thinking about
that which is GONE as far as He is concerned.
done by His 'hand', as it were.
so with God's help
from this day
i hope never again
to think
talk
or write
of even one of my sins,
once confessed and forsaken
a simple way of saying,
THANK YOU
I BELIEVE YO
2.21.2013 FOLLOWING JESUS' EXAMPLE OF EVANGELISM
the following is taken from world magazine 2.23.2013, p34..
..according to 'miraculous movements' by jerry trousdale (2012),
45 different 'unreached' muslim-majority people groups,
groups that a few years ago had no access to God's word,
now have more than 3000 new churches among them.
and the typical agent of change is himself
olive- or dark-skinned -
most likely an egyptian missionary,
perhaps an ethiopian or a sudanese.
for westerners it's hard to grasp
the result of decades of church growth in the global south:
christian believers in sub saharan africa
and other 'poor' corners of the world
are the ones currently sending missionaries
into the hardest corners of the globe.
one..is a father of two young children
and the husband of an academic researcher.
he lives with his family in a large city in africa
and travels to some of the hardest, unreached regions.
at least one of the house churches
he helped to start among muslims now has 3000 members...
how does this happen?
his answer, not surprising, is that he PRAYS.
three hours a day.
but the second reason..is that he's learned powerful lessons
from making a lot of mistakes...
being bold is not the same as being effective, he said.
this man once followed traditional methods of evangelism-
street corner preaching,
campaigns blanketing towns with tracts and other bible literature,
town hall style meetings
and an emphasis on christian programming piped in via
satellite television
he calls these air force tactics,
when ground troops,
an army of foot soldiers, are critical too.
now he pays more ATTENTION TO THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS..
entering a village and LOOKING FOR what he calls 'A MAN OF PEACE'
with whom he can DEVELOP A FRIENDSHIP
and share in the daily issues of life.
as a result, he KNOWs more about THE PEOPLE he's evangelizing
than simply that they need the gospel.
CONVERTS BECOME his COMPANIONS first,
and discipleship progresses more quickly.
when churches take root and grow,
he has to be WILLING TO LET GO:
'a lot of dependency happens because we are not willing to
lose control'...
..according to 'miraculous movements' by jerry trousdale (2012),
45 different 'unreached' muslim-majority people groups,
groups that a few years ago had no access to God's word,
now have more than 3000 new churches among them.
and the typical agent of change is himself
olive- or dark-skinned -
most likely an egyptian missionary,
perhaps an ethiopian or a sudanese.
for westerners it's hard to grasp
the result of decades of church growth in the global south:
christian believers in sub saharan africa
and other 'poor' corners of the world
are the ones currently sending missionaries
into the hardest corners of the globe.
one..is a father of two young children
and the husband of an academic researcher.
he lives with his family in a large city in africa
and travels to some of the hardest, unreached regions.
at least one of the house churches
he helped to start among muslims now has 3000 members...
how does this happen?
his answer, not surprising, is that he PRAYS.
three hours a day.
but the second reason..is that he's learned powerful lessons
from making a lot of mistakes...
being bold is not the same as being effective, he said.
this man once followed traditional methods of evangelism-
street corner preaching,
campaigns blanketing towns with tracts and other bible literature,
town hall style meetings
and an emphasis on christian programming piped in via
satellite television
he calls these air force tactics,
when ground troops,
an army of foot soldiers, are critical too.
now he pays more ATTENTION TO THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS..
entering a village and LOOKING FOR what he calls 'A MAN OF PEACE'
with whom he can DEVELOP A FRIENDSHIP
and share in the daily issues of life.
as a result, he KNOWs more about THE PEOPLE he's evangelizing
than simply that they need the gospel.
CONVERTS BECOME his COMPANIONS first,
and discipleship progresses more quickly.
when churches take root and grow,
he has to be WILLING TO LET GO:
'a lot of dependency happens because we are not willing to
lose control'...
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
2.19.2013 MISION EVANGELICA: BIBLE READING
i was asked if i would want to contribute anything to the thematic daily bible reading program. last year the church stressed reading through the bible in a year. instead of going from genesis to revelation all the different areas of the bible were read each week, with reading from one area being focused on each day. this year the focus is rather on themes. right now certain themes in I john are the focus. the idea is to move from giving factually correct answers to asking questions that hopefully make the reader think about their own walk with the Lord.
i'm not sure how this will work but said i would start praying about what i might contribute. several days later many thoughts started flowing and i wrote for a while. my goal here is just to get these thoughts down here and continue to think about how any of this could be formed into questions taken from different scripture passages. at heart they form a burden that is growing in me that i might not be so independent but more and more involved in the lives of other believers (and non-believers?) around me.
these questions could apply to people you know either within or outside the church fellowship.
i encourage you to take time to ask God to speak to you and direct your thinking, read the passage(s),
write out an answer and then ask God to show you how to put it into practice one time.
have you done what you wrote?
did you pray before, while, after you did it..asking for guidance?
how did it go?
do you have any questions?
if you do, have you asked any other of the believers?
do you know anyone who needs a faithful friend..someone they can ALWAYS count on to be there in their low times, difficulties, trials, waywardness from God?
are you such a friend?
does anyone in your life give you the definite impression that they LIKE you?
do you genuinely like anyone? do you think they know it?
has anyone ever missed you when you were not at a meeting of the brethren?
have you ever been missed in a way that made you feel good?
what did the person that missed you do/say that made you feel missed and wanted?
how would you describe a good friend who you would never want to lose?
besides Jesus, do you have one?
why do you count them a good friend?
there is a saying, 'he who would have friends would show himself to be friendly'.
would you say you are a good friend to anyone?
in seeing someone in or outside of meeting are you friendly only to one person, to several, or to everyone?
if you were sick and couldn't be at meeting, would you like others to notice, to call, to visit, to
lend a hand if needed or..what would you like?
if you were absent from meetings struggling with difficulties spiritual or otherwise, or because something was wrong,
does anyone call you?
is there anyone you call to let them know?
does anyone call or drop by to talk, encourage you and pray with you?
if no one ever inquired how you were, if you needed help, anything...how would that make you feel?
if Jesus were in souderton and He could only do one or the other, which do you think He would choose? 1. go to meeting or 2.come to see you and make Himself available to help you.
if you came into a meeting for the first time what would most likely bring you back again?
if you were poorly dressed would you feel at home if no one else was?
would you expect the people there to talk to you or would you see it as your job to talk to them?
if everyone was reading a bible, the bulletin or singing a song out of the hymnal or reading the guide for the study and no one offered you one how would you feel?
the Bible says, 'let brotherly love continue'.
have you ever lost a friend?
what was the reason?
what did you do? did you seek to resolve the problem?
if the person remained aloof, how did that feel to be abandoned like that?
have you ever abandoned someone yourself?
do you ever deserve to be abandoned (based on how you treat someone else)?
if you treated someone in a way that you yourself would not like would you be surprised?
how do you usually justify yourself when you move away from another person?
what was one reason why Jesus said friendships end? (matthew 5.21-6)
which does Jesus consider more serious: murder or anger?
which person should seek out the other? the angry one or the other?
what if they are both angry? how long do they have to become friends again? (ephesians 4.26,7)
should you take communion while you are angry at some other believer? (I corinthians 11.28-30)
what may happen if you take communion anyway when you are not friends with all the other believers?
how does it feel to be forgiven and treated kindly when you have a cold, shunning heart toward someone?
how does it feel when you know you have done or are doing wrong and you fly to Jesus for help and forgiveness?
does Jesus ever give you the cold shoulder when you admit you are wrong, have done wrong? I john 1.9
does Jesus ever forgive you based on how you behave yourself in the future?
do you ever spend time with those who are sick, those who are in prison, those who you know are passing through a specially hard time spiritually or otherwise?
do you sit with them, talk with them, read the Bible promises with them, ask them if there is any way you can help, think of things you can do that would encourage them, most of all..pray with them?
if when two believers in Jesus agree as to anything IT SHALL BE DONE,
what do you think happens when all the believers agree in prayer as to what Jesus wants?
david asks God to help him to be continually in His house (intimate presence) INQUIRING OF HIM, but he says nothing about requesting anything of God at all. psalm 27.4
Why is that?
do you do that?
i'm not sure how this will work but said i would start praying about what i might contribute. several days later many thoughts started flowing and i wrote for a while. my goal here is just to get these thoughts down here and continue to think about how any of this could be formed into questions taken from different scripture passages. at heart they form a burden that is growing in me that i might not be so independent but more and more involved in the lives of other believers (and non-believers?) around me.
these questions could apply to people you know either within or outside the church fellowship.
i encourage you to take time to ask God to speak to you and direct your thinking, read the passage(s),
write out an answer and then ask God to show you how to put it into practice one time.
have you done what you wrote?
did you pray before, while, after you did it..asking for guidance?
how did it go?
do you have any questions?
if you do, have you asked any other of the believers?
do you know anyone who needs a faithful friend..someone they can ALWAYS count on to be there in their low times, difficulties, trials, waywardness from God?
are you such a friend?
does anyone in your life give you the definite impression that they LIKE you?
do you genuinely like anyone? do you think they know it?
has anyone ever missed you when you were not at a meeting of the brethren?
have you ever been missed in a way that made you feel good?
what did the person that missed you do/say that made you feel missed and wanted?
how would you describe a good friend who you would never want to lose?
besides Jesus, do you have one?
why do you count them a good friend?
there is a saying, 'he who would have friends would show himself to be friendly'.
would you say you are a good friend to anyone?
in seeing someone in or outside of meeting are you friendly only to one person, to several, or to everyone?
if you were sick and couldn't be at meeting, would you like others to notice, to call, to visit, to
lend a hand if needed or..what would you like?
if you were absent from meetings struggling with difficulties spiritual or otherwise, or because something was wrong,
does anyone call you?
is there anyone you call to let them know?
does anyone call or drop by to talk, encourage you and pray with you?
if no one ever inquired how you were, if you needed help, anything...how would that make you feel?
if Jesus were in souderton and He could only do one or the other, which do you think He would choose? 1. go to meeting or 2.come to see you and make Himself available to help you.
if you came into a meeting for the first time what would most likely bring you back again?
if you were poorly dressed would you feel at home if no one else was?
would you expect the people there to talk to you or would you see it as your job to talk to them?
if everyone was reading a bible, the bulletin or singing a song out of the hymnal or reading the guide for the study and no one offered you one how would you feel?
the Bible says, 'let brotherly love continue'.
have you ever lost a friend?
what was the reason?
what did you do? did you seek to resolve the problem?
if the person remained aloof, how did that feel to be abandoned like that?
have you ever abandoned someone yourself?
do you ever deserve to be abandoned (based on how you treat someone else)?
if you treated someone in a way that you yourself would not like would you be surprised?
how do you usually justify yourself when you move away from another person?
what was one reason why Jesus said friendships end? (matthew 5.21-6)
which does Jesus consider more serious: murder or anger?
which person should seek out the other? the angry one or the other?
what if they are both angry? how long do they have to become friends again? (ephesians 4.26,7)
should you take communion while you are angry at some other believer? (I corinthians 11.28-30)
what may happen if you take communion anyway when you are not friends with all the other believers?
how does it feel to be forgiven and treated kindly when you have a cold, shunning heart toward someone?
how does it feel when you know you have done or are doing wrong and you fly to Jesus for help and forgiveness?
does Jesus ever give you the cold shoulder when you admit you are wrong, have done wrong? I john 1.9
does Jesus ever forgive you based on how you behave yourself in the future?
do you ever spend time with those who are sick, those who are in prison, those who you know are passing through a specially hard time spiritually or otherwise?
do you sit with them, talk with them, read the Bible promises with them, ask them if there is any way you can help, think of things you can do that would encourage them, most of all..pray with them?
if when two believers in Jesus agree as to anything IT SHALL BE DONE,
what do you think happens when all the believers agree in prayer as to what Jesus wants?
david asks God to help him to be continually in His house (intimate presence) INQUIRING OF HIM, but he says nothing about requesting anything of God at all. psalm 27.4
Why is that?
do you do that?
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