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What is it to be a Christian? - Part 2
(Samuel Davies, "The Sacred Import of the Christian Name")
"The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch." Acts 11:26
What is it to be a Christian?
1. To be a Christian--is to depart from iniquity.
2. To be a Christian--is to deny yourselves and take up the cross and follow Christ.
These are the terms of discipleship fixed by Christ Himself:
"He said to them all: If any man will come after Me--let him
deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and
follow Me!" Luke 9:23
To deny ourselves, is to abstain from the pleasures of sin, to moderate our sensual appetites, to deny our own interest for the sake of Christ. In short, it is to sacrifice everything inconsistent with our duty to Him, when these come in competition.
To take up our cross, is to bear sufferings, to encounter difficulties, and break through them all--in imitation of Jesus Christ, and for His sake.
To follow Christ, is to trace His steps, and imitate His example, whatever it costs us.
This is the essential character of every true Christian.
What then shall we think of those crowds among us, who retain the Christian name--and yet will not deny themselves of their sensual pleasures, nor part with their temporal interest, for the sake of Christ? Who are so far from being willing to lay down their lives, that they cannot stand the force of a laugh or a sneer for the cause of Christ--but immediately stumble and fall away?
Are they Christians--whom the commands of Christ cannot restrain from what their depraved hearts desire? No! A Christian, without self-denial, mortification, and a supreme love to Jesus Christ--is as great a contradiction as . . .
fire without heat,
a sun without light,
a hero without courage,
or a friend without love!
Does not this strip some of you of the Christian name, and prove that you have no right at all to it?
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What is it to be a Christian? - Part 3
(Samuel Davies, "The Sacred Import of the Christian Name")
"The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch." Acts 11:26
What is it to be a Christian?
1. To be a Christian--is to depart from iniquity.
2. To be a Christian--is to deny yourselves, take up the cross and follow Christ.
3. To be a Christian--is to be a follower or imitator of Christ.
"He left us an example--that we should follow His steps!" 1 Peter 2:21
Christ is the model for every Christian.
Paul tells us that believers will be conformed to His image, Romans 8:29; and that the same mind must be in us--which was also in Christ Jesus. Phil. 2:5.
Christ's heart glowed with love to His Father! He delighted in universal obedience to Him; it was His food and drink to do the Father's will, even in the most painful and self-denying instances! He abounded in devotion, in prayer, meditation and every pious duty.
He was also full of every grace and virtue towards mankind! He was meek and humble, kind and benevolent, just and charitable, merciful and compassionate towards all.
Beneficence to the souls and bodies of men was the business of His life; for He went about doing good. Acts 10:38.
In regard to Himself--He was patient and resigned--and yet undaunted and brave under sufferings. He had all His appetites and passions under proper government. He was heavenly-minded; above this world in heart--while He dwelt in it.
This is an imperfect sketch of His amiable character; and in these things every one who deserves to be called after His name, does in some measure resemble and imitate Him. This is not only his earnest endeavor--but what he actually attains, though in a much inferior degree; and his imperfections are the grief of his heart.
This resemblance and imitation of Christ is essential to the very being of a Christian, and without it, all profession is a vain pretense!
Does your Christianity, my friends, stand this test? May one know that you belong to Christ--by your living like Him, and manifesting the same temper and spirit?
Alas! would not some of you with more propriety be called:
Epicureans--from Epicurus, the sensual atheistic philosopher; or
Mammonites--from Mammon, the imaginary god of riches; or
Bacchanalians--from Bacchus, the god of wine; rather than
Christians--from Christ, the most perfect pattern of living holiness and virtue that was ever exhibited in the world!
If you claim the name of Christians--then where is . . .
that ardent devotion,
that affectionate love to God,
that zeal for His glory,
that alacrity in His service,
that resignation to His will,
that generous benevolence to mankind,
that zeal to promote their best interests,
that meekness and forbearance under ill usage,
that unwearied activity in doing good to all,
that self-denial and heavenly-mindedness
which shone so conspicuous in Christ, whose holy name you bear?
Alas! while you are destitute of those graces--and yet wear his name--you only mock it, and turn it into a reproach both to Him and yourselves!
"Whoever claims to live in Him--must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6
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Who is this amazing spectacle of woe and torture?
(Samuel Davies, "The Preaching of Christ Crucified, the Means of Salvation")
"Christ died for the ungodly!" Romans 5:6
In the cross of Christ--God's hatred to sin is manifested in the most striking light! The evil of sin is exposed in the most dreadful colors! Now it appears, that such is the divine hatred against all sin, that God can by no means forgive sin, without punishment; and that all the infinite benevolence of His nature towards His creatures cannot prevail upon Him to pardon the least sin--without an adequate satisfaction.
Nay, now it appears that when so malignant and abominable a thing is but imputed to His dear Son, His co-equal, His darling, His favorite--that even He could not escape unpunished--but was made a monument of vindictive justice, to all worlds!
What can more strongly expose the evil of sin--than the cross of Christ? Sin is such an intolerably malignant and abominable thing, that even a God of infinite mercy and grace--cannot let the least instance of it pass unpunished!
It was not a small thing that could arm God's justice against the Son of His love. Though He was perfectly innocent in Himself--yet when He was made sin for us--God spared not His own Son--but delivered Him up unto death--the shameful, tormenting, and accursed death of the cross!
Go, you fools, who make a mock at sin! Go and learn its malignity and demerit--at the cross of Jesus!
WHO is it that hangs there writhing in the agonies of death--His hands and feet pierced with nails, His side with a spear, His face bruised with blows, and drenched with tears and blood, His heart melting like wax, His whole frame racked and disjointed; forsaken by His friends, and even by His Father; tempted by devils, and insulted by men? Who is this amazing spectacle of woe and torture? It is Jesus, the eternal Word of God; His Elect, in whom His soul delights; His beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased!
And WHAT has He done? He did no wickedness; He knew no sin--but was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. And WHY then, all these dreadful sufferings from heaven, earth, and hell? Why, He only stood in the law-place of sinners; He only received their sin by imputation. And you see what it has brought upon Him! You see how low it has reduced Him! What a horrid evil must that be--which has such tremendous consequences, even upon the Darling of heaven!
Oh! what still more dreadful havoc would SIN have made, if it had been punished upon the sinner himself in his own person! Surely all the various miseries which have been inflicted upon our guilty world in all ages, and even all the punishments of hell--do not so loudly proclaim the terrible desert and malignity of sin--as the cross of Christ!
The infinite malignity of sin, and God's hatred to it, appear nowhere in so striking and dreadful a light--as in the cross of Christ! Let a reasonable creature take but one serious view of that cross, and surely he must ever after tremble at the thought of the least sin!
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Justice and mercy!
(Samuel Davies, "The Preaching of Christ Crucified, the Means of Salvation")
"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other!" Psalm 85:10
The salvation of sinners by the substitutionary death of Christ, gives the brightest display of the perfections of God; and particularly of those which belong to Him, as the Supreme Ruler of the moral world.
Justice and mercy, duly tempered, and exercised with wisdom--is a summary of those virtues which belong to a good ruler. Now these are most illustriously displayed in a happy union--in Christ crucified.
Justice shines brighter in the cross--than if every sin had been punished upon offenders, without any mercy!
Mercy shines brighter in the cross--than if every sin had been pardoned, and every sinner made happy, without any execution of justice.
Mercy appears in turning the divine heart with such a strong propensity upon the salvation of sinners!
Justice appears in that when the heart of God was so much set upon it--yet He would not save them without a complete satisfaction to His justice.
Mercy appears in providing such a Savior!
Justice appears in inflicting the punishment due to sin upon Him, without abatement; though He loved Him more than the whole universe of creatures!
Mercy appears in transferring the guilt from the sinner upon the Surety, and accepting a vicarious satisfaction!
Justice appears in exacting the satisfaction, and not passing by sin, when it was imputed to the darling Son of God.
Mercy appears in pardoning and saving guilty sinners!
Justice appears in punishing their sin!
Mercy appears in justifying them--though destitute of all personal merit and righteousness!
Justice appears in justifying them--only and entirely on account of the merit and righteousness of Christ!
Mercy appears in providing a Savior of such infinite dignity!
Justice appears in refusing satisfaction from an inferior person!
Mercy appears in forgiving sin!
Justice appears in not forgiving so much as one sin--without a sufficient atonement!
Mercy, rich, free mercy--towards the sinner!
Justice, strict, inexorable justice--towards the Surety!
In short--mercy and justice, as it were, walk hand in hand through every step of this amazing scheme of salvation by the substitutionary atonement of Christ!
God pardons and saves the sinner--and yet condemns and punishes his sin!
Though innumerable multitudes of rebels are pardoned--yet not one of them is pardoned until their rebellion is punished according to its demerit in the person of the Surety!
The precept of the divine law, which they had broken--was perfectly obeyed.
The penalty which they had incurred--was fully endured and paid, indeed not by themselves--but by their divine substitute.
Hence the divine law is magnified, and made honorable, and the rights of government are preserved sacred and inviolable--and yet the sinful rebels are set free, and advanced to the highest honors and blessedness!
God brings the greatest good--out of the greatest evil!
God pardons and saves the sinner--and yet condemns and punishes his sin!
God gives the brightest display of His justice--in the freest exercise of His mercy!
God gives the richest discovery of His mercy--in the most rigorous execution of His justice!
God magnifies His law--in justifying those who had broken it!
God reveals the utmost hatred against sin--in showing the highest love to the sinner!
What an astonishing God-like scheme is this! What a stupendous display of the infinite wisdom of God!
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Will you be Christ's--or Satan's?
(Samuel Davies, "The Christian Feast")
"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve!" Joshua 24:15
I would now particularly address the young people here present. Will you be Christ's--or Satan's? You cannot avoid choosing one or the other for your master; for not positively choosing Christ--is virtually choosing the devil for your master, and hell for your eternal home!
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it!" Matthew 7:13-14
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Your salvation makes amends for all His sufferings!
(Samuel Davies, "The Sufferings of Christ, and Their Consequent Joys and Blessings")
"He shall see His seed! He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied!" Isaiah 53:10-11
Jesus is now exalted to His throne in the highest heavens; and from thence He takes a wide survey of the universe. He looks down upon our world--and beholds kings in their grandeur, victorious generals with all their power, nobles and great men in all their pomp. But these are not the objects that best please His eyes. "He shall see His seed!" He sees one here, and another there, bought with His blood, and born of His Spirit; and this is the most delightful sight our world can afford Him. Some of them may be oppressed with poverty, covered with rags, or ghastly with famine; they may make no great figure in mortal eyes; but He loves to look at them! He esteems them as His children, and the fruits of His dying pangs!
The happiness of His exalted state consists, in a great degree--in the pleasure of seeing the designs of His death accomplished in the conversion and salvation of sinners!
His eyes are graciously fixed upon this assembly today! And if there is one of His spiritual seed among us--He can distinguish them in the crowd. He sees you drinking in His Words with eager ears! He sees you at His table commemorating His love! He sees your hearts breaking with penitential sorrows, and melting at His cross!
But these are not the only children whom He delights to view; they are not all in such an abject, imperfect state. No! He sees a glorious company of them around His throne in heaven, arrived to maturity, enjoying their inheritance, and resembling their divine Parent!
How does His benevolent heart rejoice to look over the immense plains of heaven--and see them all peopled with His seed! When He takes a view of this numerous offspring, sprung from His blood, and when He looks down to our world--and sees so many infants in grace, gradually advancing to their adult age; when He sees some, perhaps every hour since He died upon Calvary, entering the gates of heaven, having finished their course of education upon earth; I say, when this prospect appears to Him on every hand--how does He rejoice!
Now the prophecy in my text is fulfilled! "He shall see of the travail of His soul--and shall be satisfied!" If you put the sentiments of His benevolent heart into language, methinks He would say, "Since My death has been so fruitful of such a glorious posterity--I am well satisfied. I desire no other reward for all My agonies for them. If this end is but answered--I am fully satisfied by My hanging on the tree for them!"
Suppose that He should this day appear to you in that suffering form--sweating great drops of blood, accused, insulted, bruised, scourged, nailed upon the cross! And suppose He should turn to you with a countenance full of love and pity, and drenched with blood and tears, and address you in such moving language as this:
"See! sinners--see what I suffer for you! See at what a dear rate I purchase your salvation! See how I love you! And now I have only this to ask of you in return: that you would forsake those murderous sins which thus torment Me; that you would love and serve Me; and receive that salvation which I am now purchasing with the blood of My heart! This I ask, with all the importunity--of My last breath, of My bleeding wounds, and My expiring groans. Grant Me but this--and I am well satisfied! I shall think of all My sufferings, as well bestowed."
O sirs, must not your heart melt away within you, to hear such language as this? See the strength of the love of Jesus! If you are but saved--He does not begrudge His blood and life for you! Your salvation makes amends for all His sufferings! This He accounts His greatest joy--a joy more than equivalent to all the pains He endured for you! He has full satisfaction for all the sorrows you have caused Him!
But alas! If you are not saved--then you will perish forever under the weight of His righteous vengeance--and He will rejoice over your damnation! He will glorify Himself in your destruction! The flames of hell will burn dreadfully bright--when He will please Himself in the execution of His justice upon you!
Alas! Is the happiness of heaven--the only kind of happiness that you are careless about? Is the salvation of your immortal soul--the only deliverance for which you have no desire? Alas! Have you become so stupidly wicked!!
"He shall see His seed! He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied!" Isaiah 53:10-11
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He preached his own funeral sermon!
(Samuel Davies, "This Very Year You are Going to Die!" This message was preached at Princeton College on January 1, 1761. The author died shortly after, on February 4--at the age of 37! Thus in a way--he preached his own funeral sermon!)
"Thus says the Lord--I am about to remove you from the face of the earth! This very year you are going to die!" Jeremiah 28:16
YOU may die this year!
And should you die this year--you will be forever cut off from all the pleasures of life! Then farewell, an everlasting farewell to all the mirth and gaiety, to all the tempting amusements and vain delights of earth!
If you should die in your sins this year--then you will not only be cut off from all the flattering prospects of this life--but from all hope entirely, and forever! You will be fixed in an unchangeable state of misery; a state that will admit of no expectation but that of uniform, or rather ever-growing misery; a state that excludes all hopes of making any accomplishment, except as the monuments of the vindictive justice of God, and the deadly effects of sin!
How affecting is the idea of a promising youth cut off from the land of the living--useless and hopeless in both worlds! fallen from the summit of hope--into the gulf of everlasting despair! Yet this may be your doom, my dear youth, your doom this very year--if you should die in your sins!
Therefore, if you should this year--then all your hopes of heaven will vanish forever!
No more happiness for you! You have received your portion in this life--a few years of fleeting, sordid, unsatisfactory happiness! And an entire eternity of misery; permanent, exquisite, consummate misery--follows!
No more honor for you--but shame and everlasting contempt!
No more amusements for you--but only the blackness of darkness forever! Only intense poring upon your hopeless wretchedness! Only tormenting recollections of your past folly and madness of voluntarily rushing into the infernal pit!
No agreeable companions!
No sympathizing friends!
No relaxation!
No pleasing hobbies!
No encouraging prospects!
No comforting hopes!
No token of love!
No gift of grace from the Father of mercy!
No hope in the future!
No relief from the past!
No refuge, no escape--into the gulf of annihilation!
ABOVE you--an angry omnipotent God--and a lost heaven!
BEHIND you--a misspent life, and opportunities of salvation irrecoverably lost!
WITHIN you--a guilty, remorseful conscience--an implacable self-tormentor!
AROUND you--malignant, enraged fiends, mutual tormentors!
BEFORE you--an eternity of hopeless misery, extending infinitely!
Oh tremendous doom!
Who can bear the thought?
And is it possible that this doom should be so near to any of US? Where is the unhappy creature, that we may all drop our tears over him! Where is that wretched creature who stands every moment upon the slippery brink of this horrible precipice! This year, nay, this hour, for anything we know--he may be thrown down, engulfed and lost forever!
And is this a safe situation for you, thoughtless, foolhardy mortals!
Does it befit you in such a situation--to be cheerful, merry, and mirthful?
Does it befit you in such a situation--to be busy, restless, and laborious in the pursuits of this transitory life?
Does it befit you in such a situation--to spin out your eternal schemes of grandeur, riches, or pleasures--in hopes to accomplish them within the narrow, uncertain limits of time allotted you?
Alas! before another year has run its hasty round, the world and all that it contains, all its pursuits and enjoyments, all its cares and sorrows--may be as insignificant to you, as the grandeur of Caesar, or the riches of the world before the flood.
If you die this year, then . . .
earthly riches or poverty,
liberty or slavery,
honor or disgrace,
joy or sorrow,
sickness or health--
will be as little your concern--as the dust that shall cover your coffin!
Does it not rather befit you to turn your thoughts to another inquiry, "Is it possible for me to escape this impending danger? Where, how, whence may I obtain deliverance?"
"Thus says the Lord--I am about to remove you from the face of the earth! This very year you are going to die!" Jeremiah 28:16
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We ought to hate it with a deadly hatred!
(J. C. Ryle)
"You who love the Lord, hate evil!" Psalm 97:10
How much we ought to hate sin! Instead of . . .
loving it,
cleaving to it,
dallying with it,
excusing it,
playing with it--
we ought to hate it with a deadly hatred!
Sin is the great murderer, and thief, and
pestilence, and nuisance of this world!
Let us make no peace with it!
Let us wage a ceaseless warfare against it!
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This is my Friend!
(James Smith, "The Pastor's Morning Visit")
"You are My friends!" John 15:14
What infinite condescension in Jesus, to call us sinful worms--His friends! But He not only calls us so--but treats us as such! And expects us as His friends--to do whatever He commands us.
Is Jesus your friend?
Then visit Him often--let Him hear your voice in prayer and praise.
Then trust Him confidently--let Him see evidence of your faith in your dependence.
Then walk with Him in love--let Him enjoy much of your company.
Then expect Him to be your Friend . . .
in sickness and health,
in poverty and plenty,
in life and in death!
If Jesus is our Friend--we can never be destitute. If our father and mother forsake us--He will take us up and take us in.
We can never be miserable--He will receive us and be a wise and loving Father unto us.
We can never be neglected, for He will never fail us nor forsake us--but will do for us all that He has promised in His Word. He will . . .
defend us from foes,
visit us in sickness, and
cheer and support us in death!
Precious Lord Jesus, You are my Friend . . .
in life,
in death,
at the judgment, and
before Your Father's face forever!
"Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved--and this is my Friend!" Song of Songs 5:16
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All the punishments of hell
(Samuel Davies, "The Divine Perfections Illustrated in the Method of Salvation, Through the Sufferings of Christ")
"For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God!" 1 Corinthians 1:18
In in the Cross of our dying Jesus, we have:
Salvation for the lost!
Pardon for the condemned!
Sanctification for the unholy!
Life for the dead!
All the punishments of hell can never give a more illustrious display of God's infinite justice and holiness, and of the malignity of sin and His implacable hatred to it--than the Cross of Christ!
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He is certainly not in his right mind!
(Samuel Davies "Religion the Highest Wisdom, and Sin the Greatest Madness and Folly")
"What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world--yet loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26
Do you esteem the pleasures of sin so sweet, so solid, so lasting--as to run the risk of intolerable, eternal misery--rather than part with them?
He is a mad-man with whom fleeting fleshly pleasures, the sordid pleasures of sin--outweigh an eternity of perfect happiness. He is certainly not in his right mind--who would rather be tormented in hell forever--than lead a holy life, and labor to escape the wrath to come!
"Oh, what folly it is: for a cup of pleasure--drink a sea of wrath! Sin will be bitter in the end. The pleasure of sin is soon gone--but the sting remains!" Thomas Watson
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The toys of buffoons
(James W. Alexander, "Consolation" 1852)
Nothing can be more uncongenial with the peace of God and tranquility of soul--than the busy, hurrying, self-seeking spirit of earthly excitements; such as the slavish toil of business, the ardent fever of covetousness, the madness of ambition, and the foolery of fashionable amusements, which has at length descended to the toys of buffoons.
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The sacrifice of Himself!
(Ruth Bryan, "The Marvelous Riches of Savoring Christ!")
"But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself! " Hebrews 9:26
These rich words still follow me.
That word "sin" feels weighty to a sensible sinner.
But oh! that word "Himself!" seems a million times more weighty!
"Himself!" the mighty God, the precious Man Christ Jesus!
"Himself!" by whom all things were created, and for whom they exist!
"Himself!" whose smile is heaven, whose frown is hell!
"Himself!" whom all angels worship, and all devils obey!
"Himself!" the sacrifice for my sin!
Another such sacrifice could not be found! Sins as deep as hell and as high as heaven cannot overmatch it, for it is infinite! Sins of scarlet and crimson dye cannot resist its power, for it makes them whiter than snow!
See as much as you can of the vileness of self, and the demerit of sin--yet "Himself!" a bleeding sacrifice, exceeds it all! Here is the sweet-smelling savor both to the Lawgiver and the lawbreaker. The Lawgiver is honored, the lawbreaker is saved!
See how He stands most lovingly, as with open arms, saying to every laboring, weary, heavy-laden sinner, "Come!" "Come unto Me, and I will give you rest!" "I still receive sinners, to the uttermost I save them, and never am weary of healing their backslidings, forgiving all their iniquities, and multiplying pardons as they multiply transgressions against Me. I blot all out with My blood, and love them freely and forever!"
Sinner, will not this suffice? It will if the Spirit applies it--and opens in a little measure Christ and His sacrifice--in contrast to yourself and your sins. It will take eternity to know it fully; but that your heart may find rest and refreshing in it now, is my affectionate prayer.
"But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself! " Hebrews 9:26
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Enthralled with the doll or the rattle
(Thomas Brooks, "A Word in Season to Suffering Saints")
"O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and your glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You!" Psalm 63:1-3
Be sure that you don't take up your greatest delight . . .
in any creature,
in any comfort,
in any contentment,
in any worldly enjoyment.
When the mother sees that the child is enthralled with the doll or the rattle--she comes not in sight. If you take up your rest in any of the dolls and rattles--in any of the poor things of this world--God will certainly keep out of sight! He will never honor them
with His gracious presence--who enthralled with anything below Himself, below His presence.
When you begin to be tickled and enthralled with this and that worldly enjoyment, reason thus, "Here is a gracious spouse, here are precious children, here is a pleasant home, here is a wonderful climate, here is a gainful trade, etc. But what are all these to me--so long God has withdrawn His presence from me?"
Remember this once for all: that the whole world is but a barren wilderness--without the gracious presence of God!
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You are on the road to eternity!
(Thomas Boston, "Death")
"For I know that You will bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living." Job 30:23
If you are in Christ, you may well bear your trials.
Death will put an end to all your troubles!
If a man on a journey is not well accommodated, where he lodges only for a night--he will not trouble himself much about the matter; because he is not to stay there, it is not his home.
You are on the road to eternity!
Let it not distress you that you meet with some hardships in the 'inn of this world'.
Fret not, because it is not so well with you as with some others. One man travels with an expensive polished cane in his hand; his fellow traveler, perhaps, has but a common staff or stick: either of them will serve the turn. It is no great matter which of them is yours; both will be laid aside when you come to your journey's end.
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Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
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Ask him now how he likes his bargain!
(Thomas Watson, "Doctrine of Repentance")
"The deceitfulness of sin" Hebrews 3:13
Sin is a mere cheat. While it pretends to please us, it beguiles us!
Sin does as Jael did. First she brought the milk and butter to Sisera--then she pounded the tent peg through his head! Judges 5:26
Sin first courts--and then kills!
It is first a fox--and then a lion!
Whoever sin betrays--it kills!
Those locusts in Revelation are fit emblems of sin:
"They had gold crowns on their heads . . .
They had tails that stung like scorpions, with power to torture people." Revelation 9:7-10
Judas pleased himself with the thirty pieces of silver--but they proved deceitful riches. Ask him now how he likes his bargain!
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Paid loafers and social parasites!
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15
It is easy for preachers to become paid loafers and social parasites, wasting their days in pleasure, recreation, and bumming around with open palms and an expectant look. Sadly, the religious hucksters and hirelings of the world have earned their reputation. Let no gospel preacher do so!
The pastor has no boss within sight. He is not required to keep regular office hours. And no one checks up on him, to be sure he is working. That is as it should be. Yet, the very fact that a church treats her pastor as she should, makes it possible for the pastor to abuse his office, neglect his work, give himself to idleness, or to providing luxuries for himself and his family; when he should give himself relentlessly to study, and prayer, and preaching. If we devote ourselves to this labor, there will be little time or energy for other things.
"Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely." 1 Timothy 4:15-16
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Vessels of His wrath!
(Samuel Davies, "The Vessels of Mercy and the Vessels of Wrath Delineated")
"What if God, choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath--prepared for destruction?" Romans 9:22
Vessels of His wrath! How terribly emphatic is this phrase! Vessels dreadfully capacious of divine wrath! to be filled to the brim--with that burning liquid!
Lost sinner! Consider your present dangerous situation! You hang over the pit of destruction by the slender thread of life, held up only by the hand of an angry God--just as we hold a spider, or some poisonous insect over a fire, ready to throw in it! You are ripe for destruction, and therefore in danger every day, every hour, every moment--of falling into it! You are as fit for destruction--as a murderer is fit for the gallows! Such polluted vessels of wrath must be thrown out of the way into some dark corner in hell--that they may no more encumber or disgrace the more honorable places of the universe. And is this a situation in which it befits you to be merry, and mirthful, and thoughtless, and eager after worldly trifles? Oh does it not befit you rather--to be on your knees at the throne of grace, and vigorously pressing into the kingdom of God?
Alas! I must leave this warning with you, and if you do not remember it now--you will remember it millions of ages hence, when the remembrance of it will torment you with intolerable anguish!
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