Snippets of Spurgeon - Evening January 12th

Evening, January 12 

“I have yet to speak on God’s behalf.”

Job 36:2

We ought not to court publicity for our virtue, or notoriety for our zeal; but, at the same time, it is a sin to be always seeking to hide that which God has bestowed upon us for the good of others. A Christian is not to be a village in a valley, but “a city set upon a hill;” he is not to be a candle under a bushel, but a candle in a candlestick, giving light to all. Retirement may be lovely in its season, and to hide one’s self is doubtless modest, but the hiding of Christ in us can never be justified, and the keeping back of truth which is precious to ourselves is a sin against others and an offence against God. If you are of a nervous temperament and of retiring disposition, take care that you do not too much indulge this trembling propensity, lest you should be useless to the church. Seek in the name of him who was not ashamed of you to do some little violence to your feelings, and tell to others what Christ has told to you. If thou canst not speak with trumpet tongue, use the still small voice. If the pulpit must not be thy tribune, if the press may not carry on its wings thy words, yet say with Peter and John, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee.” By Sychar’s well talk to the Samaritan woman, if thou canst not on the mountain preach a sermon; utter the praises of Jesus in the house, if not in the temple; in the field, if not upon the exchange; in the midst of thine own household, if thou canst not in the midst of the great family of man. From the hidden springs within let sweetly flowing rivulets of testimony flow forth, giving drink to every passer-by. Hide not thy talent; trade with it; and thou shalt bring in good interest to thy Lord and Master. To speak for God will be refreshing to ourselves, cheering to saints, useful to sinners, and honouring to the Saviour. Dumb children are an affliction to their parents. Lord, unloose all thy children’s tongue.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library

Untitled Poem

The Lord our God who Createth is one;
When He died for some said "it is finished, it is done".

The Lord, when He taketh away your sin,
Into Heaven can bid you "come enter in".

The Lord, He is perfect, pure and just,
"In Him", may you say, "will I put my trust".

The Lord surely knows that you are a wretch;
Fear not! He alone can make the stretch.

The Lord will cleanse you so stand erect!
The Lord hath chosen, thou art predestined, elect!

The Lord who creates, is sovereign and saves,
Will uphold and nurture you - He planned ALL your days!

The Lord is preparing a new Heaven and Earth,
For His precious Bride, a glorious berth.

The Lord will be glorified for eternity long,
Through the justice of Hell, and saints with angels in song.

Ok so there could be some heresy in there...or bad grammar! Shoot me an email if something needs changing.

How I love God's Word!

Today is a breakthrough; whether good, or bad, is not yet known. Heretofore, I have not posted much of my own writing because I am aware of my position as a woman, and a young Christian. I do not want to usurp or encroach upon a higher authority. Although I didn't write very much, I thought it would be nice to share something from my own pondering.

I love God's Word so much and I am particularly passionate about Colossians. I have probably picked a terrible place to start and a terrible place to finish. (You can pick up your own Bibles and make sure you understand the context.)

Colossians 1:13-23 (English Standard Version)

¹³He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ¹⁸And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. ¹⁹For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

²¹And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²²He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Now read it again and while you read note (or underline if you're using your Bible) what He has done or will do.

When I read these words I am temporarily constrained to simply exist in a state of wonder and complete reverence: I am in awe of our God. My heart delights itself in the magnificence of the Almighty. 

Whilst reading and meditating on this passage a though struck me: I am made and kept by Him! the hands who formed the universe, and loved with a love of incomprehensible depth. Oh I know it is nothing new; that which is new is most probably a heresy. It is simply reassuring, and it turns a feeble smilet into a joyous moment.

And then I couldn't help myself but to dig out a hymn which fitted the occasion!

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, who, when tempests their warfare are waging,
Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging,
Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace,
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging.

Praise to the Lord, who, when darkness of sin is abounding,
Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night,
Saints with His mercy surrounding.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

Joachim Neander (1650-1680) [I only just noticed how young he was!]

So I didn't have to type it all out I scabbed it off CyberHymnal.

Like I always say: Nothing like a hymn with depth and substance!

Remember your God!

A Puritan Prayer - In Prayer

Romans 11:33-36

³³Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and how inscrutable His ways!

 ³⁴"For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counsellor?"
³⁵"Or who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid?"

 ³⁶For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen

A Puritan Prayer - Resting on God

(Click on the picture to enlarge)

Snippets of Spurgeon - Praise God for His Sovereignty

Evening, November 25

“For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

Romans 9:15

In these words the Lord in the plainest manner claims the right to give or to withhold his mercy according to his own sovereign will. As the prerogative of life and death is vested in the monarch, so the Judge of all the earth has a right to spare or condemn the guilty, as may seem best in his sight. Men by their sins have forfeited all claim upon God; they deserve to perish for their sins—and if they all do so, they have no ground for complaint. If the Lord steps in to save any, he may do so if the ends of justice are not thwarted; but if he judges it best to leave the condemned to suffer the righteous sentence, none may arraign him at their bar. Foolish and impudent are all those discourses about the rights of men to be all placed on the same footing; ignorant, if not worse, are those contentions against discriminating grace, which are but the rebellions of proud human nature against the crown and sceptre of Jehovah. When we are brought to see our own utter ruin and ill desert, and the justice of the divine verdict against sin, we no longer cavil at the truth that the Lord is not bound to save us; we do not murmur if he chooses to save others, as though he were doing us an injury, but feel that if he deigns to look upon us, it will be his own free act of undeserved goodness, for which we shall forever bless his name.

How shall those who are the subjects of divine election sufficiently adore the grace of God? They have no room for boasting, for sovereignty most effectually excludes it. The Lord’s will alone is glorified, and the very notion of human merit is cast out to everlasting contempt. There is no more humbling doctrine in Scripture than that of election, none more promotive of gratitude, and, consequently, none more sanctifying. Believers should not be afraid of it, but adoringly rejoice in it. Charles Spurgeon

Christian Classics Ethereal Library - Spurgeon Morning and Evening, 25th November

Snippets of Spurgeon - Jesus is a Heartful

Being a "Sovereign Gracer" and a "Tuliparian", I think Charles Haddon Spurgeon is the best thing since the Gutenberg Press.

I also like CCEL (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) http://www.ccel.org/ because they have Morning and Evening. This means I don't have to type out a whole page of eloquential brilliance, as I am prone to coveting Spurgeon's vocabulary and grasp of intricate grammar.

Well the 8th day of November came and went, as did the 9th, 10th.....15th, 16th and today it is the 17th day in November.

[Oh a quick shout out to Corinna - Happy 30th Birthday! Although by the time I get this posted it will probably be the 18th...in which case it will be Andrea's 20th Birthday! Have a good one *hugs*]

Ok...so I'll dump my pride (or maybe just a bit). I'm basically 10 days behind in my posting but I would like to clarify that I am not in my reading...only missed this morning due to cooking Corinna a birthday breakfast :-D That, however, isn't a viable excuse before God so I will buck up and catch up.

My excuses are all done now. This is what I was going to write 10 days ago:

My favourite part was the last line and that is what I most wanted to share with you.

Copied and pasted from http://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/morneve.d1108am.html
Penned by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Morning, November 8

“As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord.”

Colossians 2:6

The life of faith is represented as receiving—an act which implies the very opposite of anything like merit. It is simply the acceptance of a gift. As the earth drinks in the rain, as the sea receives the streams, as night accepts light from the stars, so we, giving nothing, partake freely of the grace of God. The saints are not, by nature, wells, or streams, they are but cisterns into which the living water flows; they are empty vessels into which God pours his salvation. The idea of receiving implies a sense of realization, making the matter a reality. One cannot very well receive a shadow; we receive that which is substantial: so is it in the life of faith, Christ becomes real to us. While we are without faith, Jesus is a mere name to us—a person who lived a long while ago, so long ago that his life is only a history to us now! By an act of faith Jesus becomes a real person in the consciousness of our heart. But receiving also means grasping or getting possession of. The thing which I receive becomes my own: I appropriate to myself that which is given. When I receive Jesus, he becomes my Saviour, so mine that neither life nor death shall be able to rob me of him. All this is to receive Christ—to take him as God’s free gift; to realize him in my heart, and to appropriate him as mine.

Salvation may be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf receiving hearing, the dead receiving life; but we have not only received these blessings, we have received Christ Jesus himself. It is true that he gave us life from the dead. He gave us pardon of sin; he gave us imputed righteousness. These are all precious things, but we are not content with them; we have received Christ himself. The Son of God has been poured into us, and we have received him, and appropriated him. What a heartful Jesus must be, for heaven itself cannot contain him!

A little devotion

Oh Lord, that I would to do Thy will and desire Thy glory, forsaking my own.

Before Thy face Lord, I do fall, with nothing but my weaknesses to give Thee.

My mind is corrupt, my flesh is weak, my heart is collied; I am a puisne, but pernicious rebel.

Without Thee, Thy loving kindness, Thy mercy and Thy grace, I would surely perish.

Lord Jesus, Thou art precious to me.