Temptation
(Joseph Philpot, "Daily
Portions")
"The Lord knows how to deliver the godly
out of temptations." 2 Peter 2:9
Few will sincerely and spiritually go to the Lord,
and cry from their hearts to be delivered from the
power of a temptation, until it presses
so weightily
upon their conscience, and lies so heavy a burden
upon their soul, that none but God can remove it.
But when we really feel the burden of a temptation;
when, though our flesh may love it, our spirit hates
it; when, though there may be in our carnal mind a
cleaving to it, our conscience bleeds under it, and
we are brought spiritually to loathe it and to loathe
ourselves for it; when we are enabled to go to the
Lord in real sincerity of soul and honesty of heart,
beseeching Him to deliver us from it; I believe, that
the Lord will, sooner or later, either remove that
temptation entirely in His providence or
by His grace,
or so weaken its power that it shall cease to be what
it was before, drawing our feet into paths of darkness
and evil.
As long, however, as we are in that state of which
the prophet speaks, "Their heart is divided; now
shall they be found faulty" (Hosea 10:2); as long
as we are in that carnal, wavering mind, which James
describes, "A double minded man is unstable in all
his ways;" as long as we are hankering after the
temptation, casting longing, lingering
side glances
after it, rolling it as a sweet morsel under our tongue;
and though conscience may testify against it, yet not
willing to have it taken away, there is . . .
no hearty cry,
nor sigh,
nor spiritual breathing of our soul,
that God would remove it from us.
But when we are brought, as in the presence of a heart
searching God, to hate the evil to which we are tempted;
and cry to Him that He would, for his honor and for our
soul's good, take the temptation away,
or dull and
deaden its power; sooner or later the Lord will hear
the cry of those who groan to be delivered from those
temptations, which are so powerfully
pressing them
down to the dust.
Idling life away like an idiot or a madman
(Joseph Philpot, "The
Soul's Growth in Grace" 1837)
When one is spiritually reborn, he sees
at one and the same moment . . .
God and self,
justice and guilt,
power and helplessness,
a holy law and a broken commandment,
eternity and time,
the purity of the Creator, and
the filthiness of the creature.
And these things he sees, not merely as
declared in the Bible, but as revealed in
himself as personal realities, involving all
his happiness or all his misery in time and
in eternity. Thus it is with him as though
a new existence had been communicated,
and as if for the first time he had found
there was a God!
It is as though all his days he had been asleep,
and were now awakened; asleep upon the top of
a mast, with the raging waves beneath; as if all
his past life were a dream, and the dream were
now at an end. He has been . . .
hunting butterflies,
blowing soap bubbles,
angling for minnows,
picking daisies,
building houses of cards, and
idling life away like an idiot or a madman.
He had been perhaps wrapped up in a religious
profession, advanced even to the office of a deacon,
or mounted in a pulpit. He had learned to talk about
Christ, and election, and grace, and fill his mouth
with the language of Zion.
But what did he experimentally know of these
things? Nothing, absolutely nothing!
Ignorant of his own ignorance (of all kinds of
ignorance the worst), he thought himself rich,
and increased with goods, and to have need of
nothing; and knew not that he was wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.
My desire is . . .
(by Joseph Philpot)
My desire is . . .
to exalt the grace of God;
to proclaim salvation through Jesus Christ alone;
to declare the sinfulness, helplessness and
hopelessness of man in a state of nature;
to describe the living experience of the
children of God in their . . .
trials,
temptations,
sorrows,
consolations
and blessings.
This wily devil!
(Joseph Philpot,
"Daily Words for Zion's Wayfarers")
What a foe to one's peace is one's own spirit!
What shall I call it? It is often an infernal spirit.
Why? Because it bears the mark of Satan upon it.
The pride of our spirit,
the presumption of our spirit,
the hypocrisy of our spirit,
the intense selfishness of our spirit,
are often hidden from us.
This wily devil, SELF, can wear such
masks and assume such forms!
This serpent, SELF, can so creep and crawl,
can so twist and turn, and can disguise itself
under such false appearances, that it is often
hidden from ourselves.
Who is the greatest enemy we have to fear? We all
have our enemies. But who is our greatest enemy?
He whom you carry in your own bosom; your daily,
hourly, and unmovable companion, who entwines
himself in nearly every thought of your heart; who . . .
sometimes puffs up with pride,
sometimes inflames with lust,
sometimes inflates with presumption, and
sometimes works under pretend humility and fleshly holiness.
God is determined to stain the pride of human glory.
He will never let SELF, (which is but another word for
the creature,) wear the crown of victory. It must be
crucified, denied, and mortified.
To bathe in the ocean of endless bliss!
(Joseph Philpot,
"Daily Words for Zion's Wayfarers")
"Blessed are those whose strength is in You,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, ("weeping")
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
until each appears before God in Zion."
Psalm 84:5-7
Every living soul that has been experimentally taught
his lost condition; that has known something of a resting
place in Christ; that has turned his back upon both the
world and the professing church; and gone weeping
Zionward, that he may . . .
live in Jesus
feel His power,
taste His love,
know His blood,
rejoice in His grace;
every such soul shall, like Israel of old, be borne safely
through this waste howling wilderness; shall be carried
through this valley of tears; and taken to enjoy eternal
bliss and glory in the presence of Jesus, to bathe
in the
ocean of endless bliss!
Where shall we
hide our blushing face?
(Octavius
Winslow)
There is much indeed in ourselves of which we
have reason truly to be ashamed, and to be filled
with profound self abhorrence. We have need to
be ashamed . . .
of our unbelief;
of our low thoughts of the Savior;
of our little love to God;
of our slow advance in the divine life;
of our imperfect conformity to Christ;
of the power of indwelling sin;
of our slender spiritual attainments in . . .
knowledge,
personal holiness, and
heavenly meekness.
What shamefacedness should cover us,
that we are so ready . . .
to compromise,
to falter, and
to halt.
How deeply humbled should we be that there
still exists in us so much carnality, love of the
world, and conformity to the world; so little of
the crucified spirit of a cross bearing Savior!
What cause of shame that, with all our profession,
the pulse of spiritual life beats in our souls so faintly,
the spirit of prayer breathes in us so feebly, that we
possess so little real, vital religion, and follow Christ
at so great a distance.
Filled with self abasement should we be, that the
fruits and graces of the Spirit are in us so sickly,
drooping, and dwarfed; that we have so limited
a measure of faith, love, and humility; are so
defective in our patience and meekness, wisdom,
and gentleness; that, with all our blossom and
foliage, there is so little real fruit to the glory
of our Father.
May we not, in view of all this, exclaim with Ezra,
in his deep grief and humiliation for the sins of the
people, "O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush
to lift up my face to You. For our sins are piled
higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached
to the heavens." Ezra 9:6.
Oh, where shall we fly;
where shall we hide
our blushing face but in the
blood of atonement!
sprinkled afresh with which, we may lift up our
heads and not be ashamed.
Your eyes will see the
King in His beauty!
(Philpot, "Daily
Words for Zion's Wayfarers", 1893)
"Your eyes will see the King in His beauty!"
Is. 33:17
Where in heaven or on earth can there be found such
a lovely Object as the Son of God? If you have never
seen any beauty in Jesus . . .
you have never seen Jesus,
He has never revealed Himself to you,
you never had a glimpse of His lovely face,
nor a sense of His presence,
nor a word from His lips,
nor a touch from His hand.
But if you have seen Him by the eye of faith, and
He has revealed Himself to you even in a small
measure, you have seen a beauty in Him beyond
all other beauties, for it is . . .
a holy beauty,
a divine beauty,
the beauty of His heavenly grace,
the beauty of His uncreated and eternal glory.
How beautiful and glorious does He show Himself to be
in His atoning blood and dying love. Even as sweating
great drops of blood in Gethsemane's gloomy garden,
and as hanging in torture and agony upon Calvary's
cross, faith can see a beauty in the glorious Redeemer,
even in the lowest depths of ignominy and shame!
"How is your Beloved better than others?"
"My Beloved is dark and dazzling, better
than ten thousand others!" Song 5:9-10
Can the Ethiopian
change his skin?
(Joseph Philpot,
"Daily Words for Zion's Wayfarers")
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or
the
leopard its spots? Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil."
Jeremiah 13:23
Before the soul can know anything about salvation,
it must learn deeply and experimentally the nature of
sin, and of itself, as stained and polluted by sin.
The soul is proud, and needs to be humbled.
The soul is careless, and needs to be awakened.
The soul is alive, and needs to be killed.
The soul is full, and requires to be emptied.
The soul is whole, and needs to be wounded.
The soul is clothed, and requires to be stripped.
The soul is, by nature . . .
self righteous and self seeking,
buried deep in worldliness and carnality,
utterly blind and ignorant,
filled with . . .
presumption,
arrogance,
conceit,
and enmity.
It hates all that is heavenly and spiritual.
Sin, in all its various forms, is its natural element.
To make man the direct opposite of what he originally is . . .
to make him love God, instead of hating Him;
to make him fear God, instead of mocking Him;
to make him obey God, instead of rebelling against Him;
to make him to tremble at His dreadful majesty,
instead of defiantly charging against Him;
to do this mighty work, and to effect this wonderful
change, requires the implantation of a new nature by
the immediate hand of God Himself!
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or
the
leopard its spots? Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil."
Jeremiah 13:23
That Heavenly Teacher
(Philpot, "Daily
Words for Zion's Wayfarers")
We do not learn that we are sinners merely
by reading it in the Bible. It must be wrought,
I might say, burnt into us.
Nor will anyone sincerely and spiritually cry for
mercy, until sin is spiritually felt and known . . .
in its misery,
in its dominion,
in its guilt,
in its entanglements,
in its wiles and allurements,
in its filth and pollution, and
in its condemnation.
Where the Holy Spirit works, He kindles . . .
sighs,
groans,
supplications,
wrestlings, and
pleadings
to know Christ, feel His love, taste the efficacy
of His atoning blood, and embrace Him as all
our salvation and all our desire.
And though there may, and doubtless will be,
much barrenness, hardness, deadness, and
apparent carelessness often felt; still that
heavenly Teacher will revive His work, though
often by painful methods; nor will He let the
quickened soul rest short of a personal and
experimental enjoyment of Christ and His
glorious salvation.
Preserving grace before regeneration
"To those who have been called,
who are loved by God the Father
and preserved in Jesus Christ."
Jude 1
(Joseph Philpot,
"Daily Words for Zion's Wayfarers")
What a mercy it is for God's people that before
they have a 'vital union' with Christ, before they
are grafted into Him experimentally; they have an
'eternal, immanent union' with Him before all worlds.
It is by virtue of this eternal union that they come
into the world . . .
at such a time,
at such a place,
from such parents,
under such circumstances,
as God has appointed.
It is by virtue of this eternal union that the circumstances
of their lives are ordained. By virtue of this eternal union
they are preserved in Christ before they are effectually
called.
They cannot die until God has brought about a vital
union with Christ.
Whatever sickness they may pass through, whatever
injuries they may be exposed to, whatever perils assault
them on sea or land; die they will not, die they cannot,
until God's purposes are executed in bringing them into
a vital union with the Son of His love.
Thus, this eternal union watched over every circumstance
of their birth, watched over their childhood, watched over
their manhood, watched over them until the appointed
time and spot, when "the God of all grace," according to
His eternal purpose, was pleased to quicken their souls,
and thus bring about an experimental union with the Lord
of life and glory.
Free!
(Joseph Philpot,
"Genuine Discipleship" 1843)
"If the Son sets you free, you will be
free indeed."
John 8:36
To be made free implies a liberty from
the WORLD
and the spirit of covetousness in the heart. If we
were to follow into their shops some who talk much
of 'gospel liberty', we might find that the world's
fetter had not been struck off their heart; that they
had a 'golden' chain, though invisible to their own
eyes, very closely wrapped round their heart.
And there is a being made free from the
power of SIN.
I greatly fear, if we could follow into their holes and
corners, and secret chambers many who prattle about
gospel liberty, we would find that sin had not yet lost
its hold upon them, that there was some secret or open
sin that entangled them, that there was . . .
some lust,
some passion,
some evil temper,
some wretched pride or other,
that wound its fetters very close round their heart.
And also there is a being made free from
SELF . . .
proud self,
presumptuous self,
self exalting self,
flesh pleasing self,
hypocritical self,
self in all its various shapes and turns,
self in all its crooked hypocrisy and windings.
"If the Son sets you free, you will be
free indeed."
Can he scale heaven and dethrone our God?
(Henry Law, "Psalms")
"Let us break their chains," they cry, "and
free ourselves from this slavery." Psalm 2:3
Self will rejects restraint.
Pride will not yield to rule.
Conceited reason lifts up defiant head.
The gentle scepter of Christ's kingdom;
His sweet, His light, His easy, and His
loving yoke; are hated as chains which
restrain, and cords which fetter.
When Jesus came, earth raised the cry,
"We will not have this man to reign over
us." It still resounds.
When will man learn that widest liberty
is true submission to the Gospel sway?
He is a free man whom the Son makes free.
He is a slave in whom unbridled lusts and passions rule.
But can proud man prevail?
Can he drive back the ocean's might with a feather?
Can he lift up his puny hand, and bid the sun conceal its rays?
Can he bind the hurricane with straws?
Can he lay mountains low, lift up the
valleys, and change the laws of nature?
Can he scale heaven and dethrone our God?
Such, doubtless, is his frantic will.
"Let us break their chains," they cry, "and
free ourselves from this slavery." Psalm 2:3
But give ear again!
"But the One who rules in heaven laughs.
The Lord scoffs at them. Then in anger He
rebukes them, terrifying them with His
fierce fury." Psalm 2:4-5
God may be silent long; but His patience
is not impunity. Reprieve brings not release.
When the appointed time comes, the
floodgates open and wrath overflows!
Who can conceive these terrors?
What must His displeasure be?
Who can endure when His anger issues forth?
What weeping! What wailing! What anguish!
What gnashing of teeth! When God arises to
execute due judgment on His foes!
Behold the
incarnate God bowed in grief!
(Octavius
Winslow)
Accompany Him to the garden.
Behold the incarnate God
bowed in grief; His
impurpled brow pressed to the cold, damp sod;
the cup of trembling in His hands; and the cry
of anguish, O how piercing, yet how submissive,
bursting from His quivering lips, "My Father, if
it be possible, let this cup pass from Me!"
Follow Him to Calvary, staggering and
swooning
beneath the instrument of His torture. Behold
the legions of hell let loose upon His holy soul,
'bruising the heel of the woman's seed.' Listen
to the insulting taunts of the priests as they
swagger beneath the cross. The sun is clothed
in sackcloth; the earth trembles upon its axis;
the granite rocks are rent asunder; and amid the
darkness, convulsion, and earthquake of the globe,
a cry is heard; louder and more agonizing than all,
"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
These fugitive,
transitory things
(Philpot,
"Heavenly Realities and Divine Certainties")
"The world and its desires pass away, but the man
who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:17
There is a reality in true religion, and indeed,
rightly viewed, a reality in nothing else. For every
other thing passes away like a dream of the night,
and comes to an end like a tale that is told. Now
you cannot say of a thing that passes away and
comes to an end, that it is real. It may have the
appearance of reality, when in fact it is but a shadow.
Money, jewels, pictures, books, furniture, securities,
are transitory. Money may be spent, jewels be lost,
books be burnt, furniture decay, pictures vanish by
time and age, securities be stolen.
Nothing is real but that which has an abiding substance.
Health decays,
strength diminishes,
beauty flees the cheek,
sight and hearing grow dim,
the mind itself gets feeble,
riches make to themselves wings and flee away,
children die,
friends depart,
old age creeps on,
and life itself comes to a close.
These fugitive, transitory things are
then mere shadows;
there is no substance, no enduring substance in them. They
are for time, and are useful for a time. Like our daily food
and clothing, house and home, they support and solace us
in our journey through life. But there they stop; when life
ends they end with it.
But real religion; and by this I understand the work of God
upon the soul, abides in death and after death, goes with
us through the dark valley, and lands us safe in a blessed
eternity. It is, therefore, the only thing in this world of
which we can say that it is real.
"The world and its desires pass away, but the man
who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:17
A sad motley mixture
"I am less than the least of all God's people."
Ephesians 3:8
"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners;
of whom I am the worst." 1 Timothy 1:15
(The following is an excerpt from
Philpot's letter
to
a church which desired him to come as their pastor)
Many are foolishly apt to think that a minister
is more
spiritual than anyone else. But I am daily more and more
sensible of the desperate wickedness of my deceitful heart,
and my miserable ruined state as a sinner by nature and by
practice. I feel utterly unworthy of the name of a Christian,
and to be ranked among the followers of the Lamb.
I have no desire to palm myself off on any church, as
though I were anything. I am willing to take a low place.
The more you see of me, you will be sure to find out more of
my infirmities, failings, waywardness, selfishness, obstinacy,
and evil temper. I am carnal, very proud, very foolish in
imagination, very slothful, very worldly, dark, stupid, blind,
unbelieving and ignorant.
I cannot but confess that I am a strange compound,
a sad
motley mixture of all the most hateful and abominable vices
that rise up within me, and face me at every turn.
When You shall enlarge my heart.
(Philpot, "Divine Enlargement and Spiritual Obedience")
"I will run the way of Your commandments, when
You shall enlarge my heart." Psalm
119:32
The Word of God is full of precepts, but we are totally
unable to perform them in our own strength. We cannot,
without divine assistance, perform the precept . . .
with a single eye to the glory of God,
from heavenly motives, and
in a way acceptable to the Lord,
without special power from on high.
We need a extraordinary power to be put forth in our
hearts, a special work of the Spirit upon the conscience,
in order to spiritually fulfill in the slightest degree, the
least of God's commandments.
None but the Lord Himself can enlarge the heart
of His people. None but the Lord can expand their
hearts Godwards, and remove that narrowedness
and contractedness in divine things, which is the
plague and burden of a God fearing soul.
When the Lord is absent,
when He hides His lovely face,
when He does not draw near to visit and bless,
the heart contracts in its own narrow compass.
But when the Lord is pleased to favor the soul with His
own gracious presence, and bring Himself near to the
heart, His felt presence opens, enlarges, and expands
the soul, so as to receive Him in all His love and grace.
Our refuge!
(Joseph Philpot,
"An Immutable God
and a Strong Consolation" 1866)
"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my
deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take
refuge. He is my shield and the horn of
my
salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2
On every side are hosts of enemies ever
invading our souls, trampling down every
good thing in our hearts, accompanied by
a flying troop of temptations, doubts, fears,
guilt and bondage sweeping over our soul.
And we, as regards our own strength, are
helpless against them.
But there is a refuge set before us in
the
gospel of the grace of God. The Lord Jesus
Christ, as King in Zion, is there held up
before our eyes as . . .
the Rock of our refuge,
our strong Tower,
our impregnable Fortress;
and we are encouraged by every precious promise
and every gospel invitation when we are overrun
and distressed by these wandering, ravaging,
plundering tribes to flee unto and find a safe
refuge in Him.
"Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge."
Psalm 16:1
"O Lord my God, I take refuge in You;
save
and deliver me from all who pursue me."
Psalm 7:1
Behold His
precious Gift transfixed to it!
(Octavius
Winslow, "Morning Thoughts")
"He that spared not His own Son, but delivered
Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him
also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32
Look at the cross!
Behold His
precious Gift transfixed to it,
and that by His own hand, and for your sins.
Then look at your present circumstances, survey . .
.
your needs,
your trials,
your chastisements,
your bereavements,
your heart sickening, heartbreaking tribulations,
and know that God still is love.
If He had love strong enough, deep enough, to give
you Jesus; to tear Him, as it were, from His bosom,
and to transfix Him on yonder accursed tree for your
iniquities; has He not love enough to bow His ear
to your cry, and His heart to your sorrow?
Will He not . . .
rescue you from this difficulty,
deliver you out of this trouble,
shield you in this temptation,
supply this need,
support and comfort you in this grief?
Oh yes, He will! doubt it not!
The cross of Calvary is a standing pledge; standing
until sin and guilt, need and woe, shall be known no
more; that God, who "spared not His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, will with Him also freely
give us all things" necessary to our good, and
promotive of His glory.
Supernatural light
(Joseph Philpot, "The
Heir of Heaven Walking in
Darkness, and the Heir of Hell Walking in Light")
"For God, who commanded the light to shine out
of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ." 2 Cor. 4:6
Until, then, this supernatural light of
God
enters into the soul, a man has no saving
knowledge of Jehovah. He may . . .
say his prayers,
read his Bible,
attend preaching,
observe ordinances,
bestow all his goods to feed the poor,
or give his body to be burned;
but he is as ignorant of God as
the cattle that graze in the fields!
He may call himself a Christian, and be
thought such by others, talk much about
Jesus Christ, hold a sound creed, maintain
a consistent profession, pray at a prayer
meeting with fluency and apparent feeling,
stand up in a pulpit and contend earnestly
for the doctrines of grace, excel hundreds
of God's children in zeal, knowledge and
conversation.
And yet, if this ray of supernatural light
has
never shone into his soul, he is only twofold
more the child of hell than those who make
no profession!
The Creator of the
universe
sleeps in a woman's arms!
(Horatius Bonar,
"Family Sermons", 1867)
Go to Bethlehem. See yon infant! It is God!
the Word made flesh.
Come, see the place where the young Child lay!
Look at the manger: there is the Lamb for the
burnt offering; the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world.
See yon infant! The the highest is the
lowest;
the eternal Word a babe; the Creator of the
universe sleeps in a woman's arms! How low
he has become; how poor!
Those little tender hands shall yet be torn.
Those feet, that have not yet trod this
rough earth, shall be nailed to the tree.
That side shall yet be pierced by a Roman spear.
That back shall be scourged.
That cheek shall be buffeted and spit upon.
That brow shall be crowned with thorns.
And all for you!
Is not this love?
Is it not the great love of God?
And in this love is there not salvation,
and a kingdom, and a throne?
Little heathen?
(The following is from the biography
of Joseph Philpot,
written by his son)
There was nothing my father mistrusted more
than 'childhood piety.' He insisted that children
should never be taught or allowed to use the
language of 'personal possession' in reference
to God. To sing, for instance, "Rock of Ages,
cleft for ME" or, "MY Jesus".
Herein he was most logical. For by early influence
and example you can train up a child to be . . .
a little patriot,
a little Catholic,
a little Calvinist, or
a little Bolshevist.
But no power on earth can make him a child of God.
He took great care that we, his children, attended
the means of grace, and never missed chapel or
family prayers. But he never expected us to be
anything but little heathen.
We had, it is true, to be well behaved little
heathen.
If not, we got "the stick", or its equivalent.
"Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:13
Do you love Me?
(Octavius Winslow, "From
Grace to Glory" 1864)
"Simon son of John, do you love Me more
than these?"
John 21:15
Do you love Me . . .
More than these creature claimants?
More than these earthly honors?
More than these worldly riches?
More than these domestic comforts?
More than parent, child, brother, sister, friend?
Do you love Me . . .
singly,
supremely,
above all,
amid ten thousand suitors for your heart?
Do you love Me . . .
Does My beauty charm you?
Does My love win you?
Does My grace draw you?
Does My cross attract you?
Have My sufferings and My death subdued
you to penitence, faith, and love?
Am I dearer to you than earth's dearest attractions?
Am I more precious than the heart's most precious treasure?
Can you part with all, and every one, for Me?
"Do I love You, O my Lord?
Behold my heart and see;
Gently dislodge each idol thence,
That seeks to rival Thee."
"You know I love You, dearest Lord;
But, oh, I long to soar;
Far from the sphere of mortal joys,
And learn to love You more!"
Pavilioned within His living, loving heart
(Octavius
Winslow, "From Grace to Glory" 1864)
If you are His child, Jesus is concerned with
all that appertains and attaches to you. He
moulds and pencils all the events of your
life; giving to each its form and complexion.
He is pledged . . .
to the supply of every need,
to guide each step,
to sustain in every sorrow, and
to keep you by His power unto the end.
Oh, the blessedness of being in Christ!
Here alone is liberty, security, and peace.
The foe cannot assail you, the arrow cannot
wound you, the storms cannot reach you,
encompassed by His divine perfections, and
pavilioned within His living, loving heart.
A bad tree
(Octavius
Winslow, "From Grace to Glory" 1864)
"By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people gather
grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise
every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree
bears
bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and
a bad
tree cannot bear good fruit."
Matthew 7:16-18
An unconverted state will bear fruit corresponding with
its own essence. It must, in the nature of things, be so.
The enmity against God of the carnal mind,
the rejection of the Lord Jesus,
the governing principle of SELF,
the supreme ascendancy of the world,
the slavery of sin;
indicate, unmistakably, the unrenewed, unregenerate
nature from which they spring. We do not expect one
to yield the fruits of holiness from an unholy nature.
The life an unbeliever lives is in keeping with the
unrenewed heart he possesses. He is of the earth,
earthly. It is consistent with his unregenerate nature . . .
that he should be of the world,
that he should love the world,
that the world should love him and claim him as its own,
that the things of the world its pursuits, its pleasures,
its sins; should . . .
harmonize with his nature,
charm his tastes,
delight his senses, and
bind his affections in their spell.
The enchantment
of the world?
(Octavius
Winslow)
Has the enchantment of the
world
seized upon you? Has it . . .
stolen upon you,
beguiled you,
caught you with its glitter,
overwhelmed you with its crushing cares?
Come out from it, and be separate. Resign . . .
its hollow friendships,
its carnal enjoyments,
its fleshly wisdom,
its sinful conformity.
Utter beggary and complete bankruptcy
(Joseph Philpot)
"O visit me with your salvation." Psalm 106:4
Salvation only suits the condemned, the lost.
A man must be lost; utterly lost; before he
can prize God's salvation.
And how is he lost? By . . .
losing all his religion,
losing all his righteousness,
losing all his strength,
losing all his confidence,
losing all his hopes,
losing all that is of the flesh;
losing it by its being taken from him,
and stripped away by the hand of God.
If you plunge into eternity clutching the airy
fiction
(Octavius
Winslow, "From Grace to Glory" 1864)
We do not hesitate to pronounce the doctrine of
"baptismal regeneration" to be the paramount
lie of Satan; the most subtle and fatal weapon
which this arch foe of our race ever forged for the
destruction of men's souls in eternal perdition!
Do not build your hope of glory upon your baptism.
You are lost to all eternity if you do. You must be
born again if ever you enter the kingdom of heaven.
If you plunge into eternity clutching the airy
fiction,
the fatal notion, that you passed from spiritual death
into spiritual life in your baptism; that in baptism you
were regenerated, adopted, justified, made holy and
saved; you have staked your eternal happiness upon
the most fatal lie!
In many instances, the unhappy victim of this delusion
passes away, undeceived until the deception is too
late to rectify!
Oh! the riches of the
grace of our God!
(Henry Law, "Family
Devotion" 1884)
"the riches of God's grace" Ephesians 1:7
How blessed is the thought that God is rich in grace!
His throne is a throne of grace.
His scepter is a scepter of grace.
His covenant is a covenant of grace.
His thoughts are thoughts of grace.
His ways are ways of grace.
His word is the word of grace.
His treasure house is stored with grace.
Hence all His gifts and manifestations
to His people are results of grace.
Grace called Jesus to His work.
Grace found the ransom.
Grace accepted it.
Grace determined who would be redeemed.
Grace made them willing in the day of power.
Grace keeps them through faith unto salvation.
Oh! the riches of the grace of our God!
While we have breath let us extol and magnify it.
Separation from the ungodly world
(Octavius Winslow, "WORDS
OF DIVINE COMFORT")
"Therefore, come out from them and separate
yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don't touch
their filthy things, and I will welcome you." 2 Cor. 6:17
There is not a stronger mark of the Lord's people
than their 'separation'. They are . . .
separated from the world,
separated from their families,
separated from their own righteousness, and
often separated from the religious world.
They are a godly people whom the Lord has
set apart from all others, that He might set
them apart for Himself.
Now, it is this distinctive badge of 'separateness'
the Lord will have His saints retain in all their
Christian course. We are very apt to forget it. We . . .
live in the world,
mix with the world,
hold transactions with the world, and,
in some measure, are guided by the
conventional habits of the world.
Still, we have need to be continually reminded
that, though living IN the world, and, of necessity,
compelled to conform to its proper and lawful
customs, we yet are not OF the world. "I have
chosen you OUT OF the world," says the unworldly,
loving Savior to His disciples; "therefore the world
hates you." "You are not of the world, even as I
am not of the world."
The religion of Christ teaches . . .
crucifixion to the world,
nonconformity to the world,
spiritual and marked separation from . . .
the world,
its pleasures,
its gaieties,
its principles,
its religion.
We are the professed disciples of an unearthly
Christ, the followers of an unworldly Savior.
O my soul! come away from an unclean and
defiling world. Lord! by Your cross may I be
crucified to the world, and the world to me!
Wearied, torn, and half expiring
(Joseph Philpot,
"Daily Portions")
The poor sheep has gone astray; and having
once left the fold, it is pretty sure to have
gotten into some strange place or other. It has
fallen down a rock; or has rolled into a ditch;
or is hidden beneath a bush; or has crept into
a cave; or is lying in some deep, distant ravine,
where none but an experienced eye and hand
can find it out.
Just so with the Lord's lost sheep. They get
into strange places. They . . .
fall off rocks,
slip into holes,
hide among the bushes, and
sometimes creep off to die in caverns.
When the sheep has gone astray, the shepherd
goes after it to find it. Here he sees a footprint;
there a little lock of wool torn off by the thorns.
Every nook he searches; into every corner he looks;
until at last he finds the poor sheep wearied,
torn,
and half expiring, with scarcely strength enough to
groan forth its misery. The shepherd does not beat
it home, nor thrust the goad into its back; but he
gently takes it up, lays it upon his shoulder, and
brings it home rejoicing.
I am weak and ignorant, full of sin and
compassed with infirmity. But I bless God
that He has in some measure shown me
the power of eternal things, and by free
and sovereign grace stopped me in that
career of vanity and sin in which, to all
outward appearance, I was fast hurrying
down to the chambers of death. -Philpot