Psalm 1:1-2

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2

It is blessed to read every portion of scripture which speaketh of perfection in our nature, as referring to the person of the God-man Christ Jesus; and then, from our union with him, and interest in him, to mark our connection as his people, and our concern in all that is said or written of him. In the book of Psalms, particularly, there are numberless passages, which say that of holiness, which can be said of none among the fallen sons of men with the smallest shadow of truth.

Who is the man, and where to be found, that hath never walked in the counsel of the ungodly; nor yet, which is more than walking, hath stood, as one not distressed at it, in the way of sinners; nor yet sat down, which is worse than all, in the scorner’s chair? None of the children of men could ever lay claim to the blessedness of such a conduct from his own personal holiness in it. But if we read the words with reference to the ever blessed and ever holy Jesus, all this, and infinitely more, is true; for such was the spotless purity of the Redeemer, that his whole nature was altogether clean; yea, the law of Jehovah was in his very bowels. See the margin of the Bible, Psalm 40: 8.

My soul! behold in this account, the true character of thy Lord; and in it behold the holiness and purity of that nature, in whose holiness and purity alone thou canst ever see the face of God, in grace here by faith, and in glory hereafter by sight, in open fruition. Thus read, and thus accepted, the passage in this Psalm becomes blessed indeed. In his righteousness, his people are made righteous; and by virtue of an union with him, and in-retest in him, and in all that concerns him, being joined to the Lord by one spirit, the souls of the redeemed walk as he walked, avoid the society of the profane, and sit not in the counsel of the ungodly. Precious Spirit of all truth! do thou thus glorify the Lord Jesus to my view; take of the things of Christ, and shew them to me; and grant me daily fellowship and communion with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ!

Robert Hawker (1753-1827)

Psalm 40:8

Once in Christ, in Christ forever

C. H. Spurgeon:

“Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37

No limit is set to the duration of this promise. It does not merely say, “I will not cast out a sinner at his first coming,” but, “I will in no wise cast out.” The original reads, “I will not, not cast out,” or “I will never, never cast out.” The text means, that Christ will not at first reject a believer; and that as He will not do it at first, so He will not to the last.

But suppose the believer sins after coming? “If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” But suppose that believers backslide? “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away from him.” But believers may fall under temptation! “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” But the believer may fall into sin as David did! Yes, but He will “Purge them with hyssop, and they shall be clean; He will wash them and they shall be whiter than snow;” “From all their iniquities will I cleanse them.”

“Once in Christ, in Christ for ever,
Nothing from His love can sever.”
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“I give unto My sheep,” saith He, “eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." What sayest thou to this, O trembling feeble mind? Is not this a precious mercy, that coming to Christ, thou dost not come to One who will treat thee well for a little while, and then send thee about thy business, but He will receive thee and make thee His bride, and thou shalt be His for ever? Receive no longer the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby thou shalt cry, Abba, Father! Oh! the grace of these words: “I will in no wise cast out.”

From Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s Morning & Evening Devotionals

I searched for the hymn referenced by Spurgeon, and have yet to find it. I found something similar in the second stanza of Hymn 634, page 634 in John Dobell’s A New Selection of Seven Hundred Evangelical Hymns, 1810:
2. Once in Christ, in Christ forever;
This the gospel-scheme declares; 
Death, nor hell, nor sin shall sever 
Jesus from his chosen heirs;
Blest in Jesus,
Members of his mystic frame.

There is a different version referenced in James Smith’s 1850 Daily Bible readings for the Lord's Household:
Once in Christ, in Christ for ever, 
This the gospel scheme declares; 
Satan, death, nor hell shall sever
Jesus from his chosen heirs: 
Blest in Jesus, 
Life, eternal life, is theirs.

The Word of the Lord

Isaiah 48:13-16
13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.
14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.

The word of the Lord controls his creation.
“...when I call unto them, they stand up together.”

The word of the Lord directs his story (history).
“[Cyrus] will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.” (cf. Isaiah 44:28-45:1)

The word of the Lord reveals his purpose.
“I have not spoken in secret from the beginning.”

The Final Deliverance

2 Timothy 4:6-18

As Paul closes his epistle to Timothy, he charges him before God to preach the word and fulfill the ministry to which he is called. Paul then reflects on his own ministry that is soon coming to a close.

In his reflections, Paul declares a satisfied end and a sublime expectation. He sees his own activities as a good fight, a finished course, and a kept faith. He had “kept back nothing...taught…publickly, and from house to house…testifying…repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ…” and had “not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” (Cf. Acts 20:20-27.) He knew his labor was not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58) and had a hope founded on the resurrected Lord whom he preached (1 Corinthians 15:19-20). A crown of righteousness awaits him, and he has no regrets (v. 8). “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21.)

In his reflections, Paul interjects disheartening incidents and day-to-day activities. Though the apostle sees his expected end just over the horizon, he will continue to “finish the course” until its conclusion. He desires a visit from Timothy, with Mark, in his lonesome estate. Only Luke of his co-laborers is currently present, and even one of them, Demas, has left the faith to fulfill his love for the world. He asked Timothy to bring simple items, inquiring after a cloke and some reading materials. Paul cites Alexander the coppersmith as an opposer of the truth and warns against him.

In his reflections, Paul concludes the surety of God’s deliverance (who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; 2 Corinthians 1:10). God had stood with him (against Alexander, for example), and he will continue to stand with him. Paul trusts God’s deliverance and preservation. The final deliverance may look like the defeat of death to the world – but the final deliverance will be the best!

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? … thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tribulation

The fact of tribulation
John 16:33 In the world ye shall have tribulation
1 Thessalonians 3:4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

The reason for tribulation
2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 
James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

The reaction to tribulation
Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also..
Ephesians 3:13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. 

The results of tribulation
Romans 5:3-5 ...knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 
2 Corinthians 7:4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation. 
1 Peter 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye

To be or not to be...a disciple

In the New Testament Jesus’s followers most frequently were designated “disciples” (Gk. mathetes, μαθητης; disciple/disciples is used 269 times, according to Strong’s). At minimum a disciple is a learner, a pupil, or a follower of someone – in this case particularly, Jesus. A disciple accepts the teachings of Jesus, follows his commands, and transmits these to others. Contrary to the often loose usage of the word today, Jesus himself emphasized its restrictions. Discipleship of Jesus is primary, difficult, costly, and hazardous.

Luke 14:25-33 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Speaking to his would-be disciples, Jesus uses four illustrations that emphasize the seriousness of following him. Three times he speaks of one who “cannot be my disciple.”

Give up the dear (verse 26)

This discipleship or follow-ship is not merely following him around to see what he will do or say next (cf. John 6:66). The disciple of Jesus renounces self and all that goes with it. Jesus asks for nothing less than all (Luke 5:28). That which is dearest to the disciple is an encumbrance to approaching and following Jesus Christ. Affection for Jesus Christ must reign supreme!

Pick up the heavy (verse 27)

This discipleship or follow-ship is not merely taking the light and easy tasks. The disciple of Jesus (cf. Matthew 16:24) must bear up the cross, the heavy instrument of crucifixion and death. The disciple of Christ is crucified with Christ (1 Corinthians 15:30-31, Galatians 2:20).

Count up the cost (verses 28-30)

This discipleship or follow-ship is not giving or doing that which costs little or nothing (cf. 2 Samuel 24:24). It is serious business not to be undertaken lightly, as the parable of the king going to war also teaches. Discipleship is building, and building requires skill and planning (Matthew 7:24-27, 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, Psalm 127:1). He who counts not the cost is like the seed sown in stony and thorny places, which do not end well. See Matthew 13:20-22.

Weigh up the risk (verses 31-33)

This discipleship or follow-ship is not seeking and finding that which has no risk (cf. Acts 15:26, 2 Corinthians 11:25-27). Christian discipleship is at war against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Those who are ready to raise the white flag are not ready to be Jesus’s disciples (1 Timothy 6:12).

The true disciple enters on a journey that is totally committed, arduous, expensive, and filled with the perils of war. In the midst of it all, he finds that those who commit all receive all (2 Timothy 1:12, Matthew 6:33, Mark 10:28-31), that Jesus’s yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30), whoso loses his life shall find it (Matthew 10:38-39), that he has freely received (1 Corinthians 2:12), and that Jesus has already won the victory (Revelation 19:11, 21, 1 Corinthians 15:57)!

Let us run, Hebrews 12

Hebrews 12:1-2: Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

To teach and encourage his readers, the inspired author refers to a “great cloud of witnesses” – the “hall of faith” introduced in Hebrews chapter 11 – then turns to the metaphor of a race.

A cloud of witnesses, observation.

The great cloud of witnesses refers back to Old Testament faithful, who “by faith” obtained a good report,[i] offered a more excellent sacrifice, prepared an ark, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, received the spies with peace, and so much more – so much that the time would fail to tell of them all. These heroes of faith are witnesses – but in what sense? Considering the race metaphor, some have considered them as witnesses in the sense of spectators who witness the race. Better, in the entire context, is to understand the previous persons introduced in Hebrews 11 as witnesses who testify or bear witness of faith to succeeding generations – even the present community of faith to whom the exhortation is given. Those who walked in and lived by faith in the past offer encouragement to those who must do so in the present. There is both preparation and design for the race and the actual running of the race.

Let us lay aside, preparation.

The runner in the Christian race must lay aside the encumbrances that hinder the goal. let us lay aside (1) every weight, and (2) the sin which doth so easily beset us. Every weight means anything, any weight, any burden – all things unnecessary that hinder us in running the Christian race and obtaining the prize. Some foods that are tempting or tasty might not be appropriate for the runner; some clothes that are weighty or restrictive might not be suitable.[ii] Some things that are lawful for the race may not be expedient for the running (Cf. 1 Corinthians 6:12). These things should be laid aside, left alone for fulfilling one’s purpose in life. The first consideration does not have to be inherently sinful. The second – the sin which doth so easily beset us – obviously is. The “sin” here is singular, rather than plural “sins.” Perhaps the author has in mind for each person some particular sin that person is most prone to, the one sin that consistently hinders above all others. In light of the emphasis on faith prior to this in chapter 11, the sin of unbelief may be intended, it being opposite of the walk of faith. The just shall – yea, must – live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). Unbelief kicks our running feet from beneath us. Unbelief hobbles our effectiveness. (Compare Matthew 13:58; Matthew 17:20; Mark 9:24; Mark 16:14.)

Let us run, completion.

All preparation is only preparation; the race still must be run. Let us run (1) with patience, (2) the race that is set before us, while (3) looking unto Jesus. “With patience” suggests endurance, and that the race is not a sprint but rather a long distance run. Patience is coupled with faith in Hebrews 6:12 and James 1:3. The trials, the tribulations, the training, work patience in us (Romans 5:2-4) preparing us for the race of life. We run the race that is set before us.[iii] God designs the race we individually will run, and designs each of us individually for the race will run. At age seventeen Jacob’s son Joseph could not have imagined how God would fulfill the design of Joseph’s race of life (Genesis 37:1-11), but in the end he could look back over it all and testify gloriously, “God meant it for good!” (See Genesis 50:20.) We run with a view, a goal – looking unto Jesus. He is the author and finisher of our faith (which is the gift of God, Ephesians 2:8). God speaks to us by his Old Testament witnesses to motivate and encourage us, but in these last days he has spoken unto us by the supreme example, his Son (1 Peter 2:21). Fix your eyes on Jesus and run with patience the race that he designed, with him in view.

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[i] F. F. Bruce: “It is not so much they who look at us as we who look to them—for encouragement.” The verb μαρτυρέω in Hebrews 11:2, 39 – “obtained a good report” – relates to the noun μαρτυς – “witnesses” in Hebrews 12:1. God, through his inspired writer, witnesses to them – gives them a good report – and they in turn witness or give a good report to those who follow after.

[ii] Our identity defines our activity. Our activity determines our attire.

[iii] Matthew Henry: “This race is set before them; it is marked out unto them, both by the word of God and the examples of the faithful servants of God, that cloud of witnesses with which they are compassed about. It is set out by proper limits and directions; the mark they run to, and the prize they run for, are set before them.” (Cf. 1 Corinthians 9:24; Psalm 19:5.)

Peter’s three calls, by Spurgeon

Peter’s three calls:
And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. (John 1:37)
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishermen. And he says to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:18,19)
And he called to him his twelve disciples…the first, Simon, who is called Peter. (Matthew 10:1,2)

I will venture here to trace an analogy between this and the calling of the Christian minister. You will observe that this call comes last. The call to the apostleship does not come first. Peter is first the disciple, secondly the evangelist, and thirdly the apostle. So, no man is called to be specially set apart to the ministry of Christ, or to have a share in the apostleship until he has first of all himself known Christ, and until, secondly, as an ordinary Christian he has fully exercised himself in all the duties which are proper to Christian service. Now, some people turn this topsy-turvy. Young men who have never preached, who have never visited the sick, never instructed the ignorant, and are totally devoid of any knowledge of gospel experience except the little of their own, are dedicated to the Christian ministry. I believe this to be a radical and a fatal error. Brethren, we have no right to thrust a brother into the ministry until he has first given evidence of his own conversion, and has also given proof not only of being a good average worker but something more. If he cannot labour in the church before he pretends to be a minister, he is good for nothing. If he cannot perform all the duties of membership with zeal and energy, and if he is not evidently a consecrated man whilst he is a private Christian, certainly you do not feel the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit to bid him enter the ministry. No man has a right to aspire to come into that office until he has shown that he is really devoted to Christ by having served him as others have done.

From a sermon, and used in 365 Days with C.H. Spurgeon, Vol. 2: A Unique Collection of 365 Daily Readings from Sermons Preached by Charles Haddon Spurgeon from His Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit; edited by Terence Peter Crosby; Day One Publications.

The Golden Rule

In a society historically saturated with the teachings of Christianity, most folks have heard of The Golden Rule, usually summarized this way: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Having heard of it, how much do we know about it? The rule is stated twice in the Gospels, in slightly different wording.

Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Luke 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Many other religions have rules that simulate the Golden Rule. For examples:[i]

• “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” (Udana-Varga 5:18, Buddhism
• “What I do not wish men to do to me, I also wish not to do to men.” (Analects 15:23, Confucianism)
• “Do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you.” (Mahabharata 5:1517, Hinduism)

These similarities are often highlighted by those who view all religions of equal ethical, moral and spiritual value. Interestingly, most “golden” statements of other religions are placed in the negative, as a prohibition of bad, evil, or immoral action. Jesus’s “Golden Rule” is active, a directive to positive, good, and moral action.

The “Golden Rule” of Christianity must be placed in the larger context of biblical ethics. Without that, the bare statement itself might be contrived to fit any form of reciprocity – no matter how vile or vulgar – just so it suits the pleasure of the contriver! Under such heavy spin, the drug dealer might justify her actions, saying, “I would like others to sell me heroin, so I ought to sell heroin to others.” Or the adulterer might say, “I would like her to have sexual relations with me, so I ought to have sexual relations with her.” These might “go down to their houses feeling justified,” while completely obliterating the moral ethic of the Bible!

The Golden Rule is generally considered an ethic of reciprocity, and often not distinguished from the reciprocal ethics of other religions.[ii] In its bare form, reciprocity is a mutually beneficial exchange, done solely for the purpose of the mutual benefit. In that form is little more than teaching selfishness as a virtue! The reciprocation is a means of getting what one wants. Ancient Egyptian philosophy stated the virtue of getting what one wants plainly by stating, “Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do.”

In contrast, seen in its context in Luke chapter 6, Jesus’s “Golden Rule” is not an exhortation to refrain from evil that evil might not be done to you, or to do good to get good. Jesus’s rule ultimately is to do good because it is the right thing to do! In Luke 6:27-30 Jesus states plainly and without equivocation that to love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, pray for them which despitefully use you, turn the other cheek and give to every man that asks of you – none of which hold out the gift of reciprocity. Further, Luke 6:32-36 he demonstrates that loving those who love you, doing good to those who do good to you, and loaning to those who can pay you back, sets Christians apart from no one. Everyone naturally does what is in their best interests.

The children of the Highest look most like their father when they are kind unto the unthankful and to the evil, showing mercy to those who may seem to deserve it the least. Do right because it is the right thing to do.

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[i] Passages of religious texts in 14 faiths re the Ethics of Reciprocity found at Religious Tolerance.Org

[ii] Reciprocity is mutual exchange – doing something for another because that person has done for you, or doing something for another expecting that person to do something for you.

A Good Soldier

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." 2 Timothy 2:3

How is the Christian soldier made? By going to chapel, by reading the Bible, by singing hymns, by talking about religion? Just as much as the veteran warrior is made at Aldershot or Southsea. He must go into the battle and fight hand to hand with Satan and the flesh; he must endure cruel wounds given by both outward and inward foes; he must lie upon the cold ground of desolation and desertion; he must rush up the breach when called to storm the castles of sin and evil, and never "yield or quit the field," but press on determined to win the day or die. In these battles of the Lord, in due time he learns how to handle his weapons, how to call upon God in supplication and prayer, to trust in Jesus Christ with all his heart, to beat back Satan, to crucify self, and live a life of faith in the Son of God.

Religion is not a matter of theory or of doctrine: it is to be in the thick of the battle, fighting with the enemy hand to hand, foot to foot, shoulder to shoulder. This actual, not sham, warfare makes the Christian soldier hardy, strengthens the muscles of his arm, gives him skill to wield his weapons, and power sometimes to put his enemies to flight. Thus it "works endurance," makes him a veteran, so that he is no longer a raw recruit, but one able to fight the Lord's battles and "to endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." What then have been your best friends? Your trials. Where have you learnt your best lessons? In the school of temptation. What has made you look to Jesus? A sense of your sin and misery. Why have you hung upon the word of promise? Because you had nothing else to hang upon.

Thus, could you look at the results, you would see this, that trials and temptations produced upon your spirit these two effects; that they tried your faith, and that sometimes to the uttermost, so that in the trial it seemed as if all your faith were gone; and yet they have wrought patience, they have made you endure. Why have you not long ago given up all religion? Have your trials made you disposed to give it up? They have made you hold all the faster by it. Have your temptations induced you to let it go as a matter of little consequence? Why, you never had more real religion than when you were tried whether you had any; and never held faith with a tighter grasp than when Satan was pulling it all away. The strongest believers are not the men of doctrine, but the men of experience; not the boasters, but the fighters; not the parade officers in all the millinery of spotless regimentals, but the tattered, soiled, wounded, half-dead soldiers that give and take no quarter from sin or satan.

 J. C. Philpot

God hath done whatsoever he pleased

Psalm 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Psalm 135:6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
Jonah 1:14 …for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.

It pleased God to create each seed, beast, fish, bird, and man just as he did.
1 Corinthians 15:38 but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

It pleased God to send his Son.
Matthew 3:17 and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
2 Peter 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

It pleased God to bruise Jesus for our iniquities.
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Galatians 1:15-16 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

It pleased God to set believers in the body as he sees fit.
1 Corinthians 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

It pleased God to accept the sacrifices of praise, goodness, and generosity.
Hebrews 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Philpot devotional: Light in the darkness

"Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness." Psalm 112:4

We often get into such dark paths, that we seem altogether out of the secret, and feel as if there were no more grace in our souls, than in one altogether dead in trespasses and sins. And whether we look back at the past, or view the present, or turn our eyes to the future, one dark cloud seems to rest upon the whole; nor can we, with all our searching, find to our satisfaction that we have one spark of true religion, or one atom of grace, or one grain of vital godliness, or any trace that the Spirit of God has touched our consciences with his finger.

Now, when we are in this dark, benighted state, we want light; we want the blessed Sun of righteousness to arise; we want the south wind to blow a heavenly gale, and drive the mists away; we want the clouds to part, and the light of God's countenance to shine into our souls, so as to shew us where we are, and what we are, and make it clear, that base and vile as we are, yet that we are interested in the love of the Father, the blood of the Son, and the teachings of the Holy Ghost. And when his word begins to distil like the rain and to drop like the dew, when the Lord himself is pleased to speak home one sweet testimony, one little word, one kind intimation—what a change it makes! The clouds break away, the fog clears off, the mists dissolve, and the soul becomes sweetly persuaded of its interest in the blood and love of the Lamb.

J. C. Philpot (1802-1869)

Philpot: Perplexed, but not in despair

"Perplexed, but not in despair." 2 Corinthians 4:8

Oh! what a mercy, amidst every degree of inward or outward perplexity, to be out of the reach of Giant Despair; not to be shut up in the iron cage; not to be abandoned, as Judas or Ahithophel, to utter desperation and suicide, and, after a long life of profession, concerning faith to make awful shipwreck!

Now the child of God, with all his doubts, fears, sinkings, misgivings, and trying perplexities is never really and truly in despair. He may tread so near the borders of that black country that it may almost be debateable land whether he is walking in despair or upon the borders of it; for I believe many children of God have at times come to the solemn conclusion that there is no hope for them, for they cannot see how they can be saved or have their aggravated sins pardoned.

And though this be not black despair, nor such utter, irremediable desperation as seized Saul and Judas, for there still is a "Who can tell?" yet it certainly is walking very near the borders of that dark and terrible land. I cannot tell, nor do I believe any can, how low a child of God may sink, or how long he may continue under the terrors of the Almighty; but we have the warrant of God's word to believe that he is never given up to utter despair, for the Lord holds up his feet from falling into that terrible pit, and being cast into that sea to which there is neither bottom nor shore.

J. C. Philpot (1802-1869)

A prudent man foreseeth the evil

“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.” Proverbs 22:3

Noah, warned of God, prepared an ark to the saving of his household. Lot, admonished by the angels, fled out of Sodom. So there is a fleeing from the wrath to come. How careless, how secure, and unconcerned are we until quickened with spiritual life! Solomon speaks of those who sleep on the top of a mast, where one jerk of the wave, or one turn of the sleeper may precipitate him into the boiling ocean. God’s anger is gathering against a wicked world. Who will escape this fearful storm of eternal, unmitigated wrath? Those who flee to Jesus. Who flee to Jesus? Those only who feel their need of him. How are they made to feel their need of him? By the flashes of God’s anger. Whence issue these flashes? Out of the thunder-cloud of God’s holy law—the revelation which he has made of his anger against transgressors. How necessary then to feel the application of the law to the conscience, to experience what Job calls, “the terrors of God,” that Jesus Christ, who is a “covert from the tempest,” may be seen and fled unto! It is like the warning given in Egypt of the grievous hail: “He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: and he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field” (Exodus 9:20-21). Faith credits what unbelief derides. As is their nature and operation, so is their end. Faith ends in salvation; unbelief in perdition.

J. C. Philpot (1802-1869)

Our Melchizedecan Priest (Philpot)

“We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Hebrews 8:1- 2

Our blessed Lord was to be “a High Priest after the order of Melchizedec.” It will be remembered that Melchizedec met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him (Gen. 14:19). In the same way our great High Priest blesses the seed of Abraham; for “they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham;” and as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, they walk in his steps who “believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”

But Melchizedec the type could only ask God to bless Abraham. He could not himself confer the blessing; but Jesus, the antitype, our great Melchizedec, whose priesthood is “after the power of an endless life,” blesses his people, not by merely asking God to bless them, but by himself showering down blessings upon them, and by communicating to them out of his own fulness every grace which can sanctify as well as save. Even before his incarnation, when he appeared in human form, as if anticipating in appearance that flesh and blood which he should afterwards assume in reality, he had power to bless.

Thus we read that when Jacob wrestled with the angel, which angel was no created angel, but the Angel of the covenant, even the Son of God himself in human shape, he said, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me.” And in answer to his wrestling cry we read that “he blessed him there.” Jacob knew that no created angel could bless him. He therefore said, when he had got the blessing, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” To this blessing Jacob afterwards referred when, in blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, he said, “The angel which redeemed me from all evil bless the lads.”

Thus, also, our gracious Lord, immediately before his ascension to heaven, as if in anticipation of the gifts and graces which he was to send down upon them when exalted to the right hand of the Father, “lifted up his hands and blessed his disciples;” and as if to shew that he would still ever continue to bless them, “he was parted from them and carried up into heaven,” even “while he blessed them,” as if he were blessing them all the way up to heaven, even before he took possession of his mediatorial throne (Luke 24:50, 51).

J. C. Philpot (1802-1869)

All that the Father giveth me (Philpot)

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37

Now, poor sinner, upon whose head the beams of a fiery law are darting; now, poor sinner, distressed in thy mind, guilty in thy conscience, plagued with a thousand temptations, beset by innumerable doubts and fears, canst thou not look up a little out of thy gloom and sadness, and see that the eternal God is thy refuge? Dost thou not cleave to him with the utmost of thy power, as being beaten out of every other? Hast thou not taken hold of his strength that thou mayest make peace with him? Art thou not looking to him?

And does he not say, “Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth?” He bids thee look at him as Moses bade the Israelites look to the brazen serpent. Poor sinner, groaning under the weight of thy transgression, he bids thee look to him. Has the blessed Lord, he into whose lips grace was poured, not said, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out?” Why should you not look? Why should you not come to him? Will he cast you out? Do you not feel the secret drawings of his grace, movements upon your heart which make you come often with strong crying and tears, with groans and sighs, earnest, vehement, and continual supplications? What are these but the inward teachings of God, as our Lord said, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God.”

“Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” And do you not know that the Lord himself said, that no man can come to him except the Father which hath sent him draw him? These comings, therefore, of thy soul in earnest and vehement desire are, according to his own testimony, from the special teachings and gracious drawings of God in thee. Having made his dear Son to be the refuge of thy soul, he is now drawing thee unto him that thou mayest find pardon and peace in him.

But perhaps you will say, “I am so sinful, so guilty, I have been such a sinner, much worse than you can form any conception of; and it is this which sinks me so low.” Art thou lower than brother Jonah when he was in the whale’s belly, and, in his own feelings, in the belly of hell? And yet what said he? “Yet will I look again toward thy holy temple.” Canst thou not look again toward the holy temple? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? So David felt and feared, but it was not so, for “his mercy endureth for ever;” and that is a long and strong word. Look and live, look and live!

J. C. Philpot (1802-1869)

A Good Conscience, by Philpot

“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck.” 1 Timothy 1:19

We find that, in the Apostle’s time, there were characters who held faith, or rather what they called faith, and put away “good conscience.” He mentions by name, “Hymeneus and Alexander, whom he had delivered unto Satan,” that is, excommunicated them out of the church, as heretics and blasphemers. But if to have put good conscience away, stamps a man as unfit for the visible Church of God, it behooves us to search whether we have this weapon at our side, and in our hand.

What does the Apostle, then, mean by “a good conscience?” I believe he means a conscience alive in God’s fear, a spiritual conscience, a tender conscience, what he calls, in another part, “a pure conscience;” “holding faith in a pure conscience,” that is, purified from ignorance, from guilt, from the power of sin, “a conscience void of offence toward God and men.” Wherever, then, there is living faith in the soul, there will be united with it “a good conscience.” The Lord never sends forth a soldier to fight his battles with the weapon of faith only; he puts faith in one hand and “a good conscience” in the other. And he that goes forth with what he thinks to be faith, and casts aside “a good conscience,” will manifest himself to be one of those characters, who, “concerning faith make shipwreck.”

But why is it called “a good conscience?” Because it comes down from God, who is the Author of all good, the Giver of “every good gift, and every perfect gift.” There is none good but he, and there is nothing good but what he himself implants and communicates. This weapon of a good conscience, that the Lord arms his soldiers with, works with faith, as well as proves the sincerity of faith, and tests its genuineness and reality. Faith, without a good conscience, is dead. It bears upon it the mark of nature, and however high it may rise in confidence, or however it may seem to abound in good works, it is not the faith of God’s elect, of which the end is the salvation of the soul.

But it may be asked, How does a good conscience work with faith? What is the connection between these two weapons, and how do they mutually support and strengthen each other? In this way. What faith believes, good conscience feels; what faith receives, good conscience holds; what faith embraces, good conscience rivets fast; when faith is weak, good conscience is feeble; and when faith is strong, good conscience is active. They grow and they wane together, and like two stems from one root together do they flourish and fade. He then alone wars the good warfare, who goes forth with faith in the one hand, and “good conscience” in the other; faith strengthening conscience, and conscience strengthening faith; each doing their separate office, but still tending to one end; each accomplishing the work which the Lord has appointed, and yet each fighting the Lord’s battles, and bringing the soldier safe and victorious over his enemy.

By J. C. Philpot

Philpot Devotional - “Through Baca’s Vale”

“And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:23

We must never, even in thought, separate the human nature of our adorable Redeemer from his divine. Even when his sacred body lay in the grave, and was thus for a small space of time severed from his pure and holy soul by death and the tomb, there was no separation of the two natures, for his human soul, after he had once become incarnate in the womb of the Virgin, never was parted from his Deity, but went into paradise in indissoluble union with it.

It is a fundamental article of our most holy faith that the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ had no existence independent of his divine. In the Virgin’s womb, in the lowly manger, in the lonely wilderness, on the holy mount of transfiguration, in the gloomy garden of Gethsemane, in Pilate’s judgment hall, on the cross, and in the tomb, Jesus was still Immanuel, God with us.

And so ineffably close and intimate is the conjunction of the human nature with the divine, that the actings of each nature, though separable, cannot and must not be separated from each other.

Thus, the human hands of Jesus broke the seven loaves and the fishes; but it was the God-man who multiplied them so as to feed therewith four thousand men, beside women and children.

The human feet of Jesus walked on the Sea of Galilee ; but it was the Son of God who came on the waves to the ship.

The human lips of Jesus uttered those words which are “spirit and life” (John 6:63), but it was the Son of the living God who spake them (John 6:69).

The human hands and feet of Jesus were nailed to the cross; but the blood shed by them was indeed divine, for all the virtue and validity of Deity were stamped upon it (Acts 20:28).

-- J. C. Philpot

Tola - the Seventh Judge

Judges 10:1 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.

All we know about Tola is given in this one verse. He is not mentioned by Josephus. Certainly he was a servant of God and a patriot of Israel. When his people needed a defender, he rose to the occasion. Unlike his predecessor, Abimelech, he sought no honors. He was content simply to do what he could for Israel. The twenty-three years of Tola’s judgeship were probably quiet years. The nation suffered no major invasions. They were not tributary to a foreign king. These peaceful years were the result of the victories of Gideon. Tola helped to perpetuate the peace. Thus, we see that the influence of a God-fearing man lives on long after his death. Unfortunately, the influence of the wicked often lives on even longer.

The best men are not always the best known. They just go quietly about their duty, unconcerned for honor or worldly fame. Such people will not make the Who’s Who, or be selected for the Hall of Fame, but they can rejoice that their “names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). They may go virtually unnoticed by men, but God takes not and will appropriately honor such in due time. "Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:1).

By O. H. Griffith, circa 2002 [I recovered the above writing by Brother Griffith from an e-mail I had printed out. It appears there may have been another paragraph that is missing.]

A stranger in the world, by Philpot

"For we are strangers before thee and sojourners, as were all our fathers; our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding." 1 Chronicles 29:15

"If you possess the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and, Jacob, you, like them, confess that you are a stranger; and your confession springs out of a believing heart and a feeling experience. You feel yourself a stranger in this ungodly world; it is not your element, it is not your home. You are in it during God's appointed time, but you wander up and down this world a stranger to its company, a stranger to its maxims, a stranger to its fashions, a stranger to its principles, a stranger to its motives, a stranger to its lusts, its inclinations, and all in which this world moves as in its native element. Grace has separated you by God's distinguishing power, that though you are in the world, you are not of it. I can tell you plainly, if you are at home in the world; if the things of time and sense be your element; if you feel one with the company of the world, the maxims of the world, the fashions of the world, and the principles of the world, grace has not reached your heart, the faith of God's elect does not dwell in your bosom. The first effect of grace is to separate. It was so in the case of Abraham. He was called by grace to leave the land of his fathers, and go out into a land that God would shew him. And so God's own word to his people is now, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Separation, separation, separation from the world is the grand distinguishing mark of vital godliness. There may be indeed separation of body where there is no separation of heart. But what I mean is, separation of heart, separation of principle, separation of affection, separation of spirit. And if grace has touched your heart, and you are a partaker of the faith of God's elect, you are a stranger in the world, and will make it manifest by your life and conduct that you are such."
- J. C. Philpot - 1802-1869

I’m but a sojourner below,
As all my fathers were;
May I be well prepared to go
When I the summons hear.
- Isaac Watts, 1719