Pithy gems from Arthur Pink

The nature of Christ's salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day evangelist. He announces a Savior from Hell—rather than a Savior from sin. And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire—who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness!

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Christ is the key which unlocks the golden doors into the temple of Divine truth!

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An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendants.

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Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude—an attitude of dependence, dependence upon God.

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Not one for whom Jesus died, can possibly miss Heaven!

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Most Christians expect little from God, ask little—and therefore receive little, and are content with little!

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Chastisement is designed for our good, to promote our highest interests. Look beyond the rod—to the All-wise hand that wields it!

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The sovereignty of God may be defined as the exercise of His supremacy. Being infinitely elevated above the highest creature—He is the Most High, Lord of heaven and earth. Subject to none, influenced by none—He is absolutely independent. God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, and always as He pleases. None can thwart Him, none can hinder Him.

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No sinner was ever saved by giving his heart to God. We are not saved by our giving—we are saved by God's giving.

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To reject the terms of the Gospel in order to gratify the lusts of the flesh for a brief season, and then suffer forever and ever in the Lake of Fire, is the height of madness! Nothing can extenuate the wickedness of him who prefers the drudgery of Satan to the freedom of Christ.

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Sovereignty characterizes the whole being of God. He is sovereign in all His attributes.

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The severest self-denials and the most lavish gifts are of no value in God's esteem—unless they are prompted by love.

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Hirelings will feed the goats—but only those who love Christ can feed His sheep.

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Like the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the miraculous birth of our Savior—the truth of election must be received with simple, unquestioning faith.

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The measure of our love for others—can largely be determined by the frequency and earnestness of our prayers for them.

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Worry over poverty—is as fatal to spiritual fruitfulness as is gloating over wealth.

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Instead of a river, God often gives us a brook, which may be running today and dried up tomorrow. Why? To teach us not to rest in our blessings—but in the blesser Himself!

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Grace can neither be bought, earned, or won by the creature. If it could be—it would cease to be grace.

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God cannot change for the better, for he is already perfect; and, being perfect—God cannot change for the worse.

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Instead of a river, God often gives us a brook—which may be running today, and dried up tomorrow. Why?

To teach us not to rest in our blessings—but in the blesser Himself.

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The prevailing idea of prayer seems to be, that I come to God and ask Him for something that I want—and that I expect Him to give me that which I have asked. But this is a most dishonoring and degrading conception. The popular belief reduces God to a servant—our servant—doing our bidding, performing our pleasure, granting our desires. No, prayer is a coming to God, telling Him my need, committing my way unto the Lord, and leaving Him to deal with it as seems Him best.

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Contentment is the product of a heart resting in God. It is the soul's enjoyment of that peace that passes all understanding. It is the outcome of my will being brought into subjection to the Divine will. It is the blessed assurance that God does all things well, and is, even now, making all things work together for my ultimate good.

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Regeneration consists in a radical change of heart, for there is implanted a new disposition as the foundation of all holy exercises—the mind being renovated, the affections elevated, and the will emancipated from the bondage of sin.

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True liberty is not the power to live as we please—but to live as we ought.

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It is not the absence of sin, but the grieving over it—which distinguishes the child of God from empty professors.

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Real prayer is communion with God, so that there will be common thoughts between His mind and ours. What is needed is for Him to fill our hearts with His thoughts—and then His desires will become our desires flowing back to Him.

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The Bible is no lazy man's book! Much of its treasure, like the valuable minerals stored in the recesses of the earth, only yield up themselves to the diligent seeker. No verse of Scripture yields its meaning to lazy people.

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It's true that many are praying for a worldwide revival. But it would be more timely, and more scriptural, for prayer to be made to the Lord of the harvest, that He would raise up and thrust forth laborers who would fearlessly and faithfully preach those truths which are calculated to bring about a revival.

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In praying for His enemies, not only did Christ set before us a perfect example of how we should treat those who wrong us an hate us—but He also taught us never to regard any as beyond the reach of prayer.

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Prayer is not intended to change God's purpose—nor is it to move Him to form fresh purposes. God has decreed that certain events shall come to pass through the means He has appointed for their accomplishment.

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The god which the vast majority of professing Christians love, is looked upon very much like an indulgent old man, who himself has no relish for folly—but leniently winks at the indiscretions of youth.

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For one sin, God banished our first parents from Eden. For one sin, all the posterity of Canaan fell under a curse which remains over them to this day. For one sin, Moses was excluded form the promised land. For one sin, Elisha's servant smitten with leprosy. For one sin, Ananias and Sapphira were cut off from the land of the living.

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Nothing in all the vast universe can come to pass otherwise than God has eternally purposed. Here is a foundation of faith. Here is a resting place for the intellect. Here is an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast. It is not blind fate, unbridled evil, man or Devil—but the Lord Almighty who is ruling the world, ruling it according to His own good pleasure and for His own eternal glory!

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The great mistake made by most of the Lord's people—is in hoping to discover in themselves that which is to be found in Christ alone.

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Unbelief is infectious! The unbelief of one strengthens the unbelief of another, just as the faith of one strengthens the faith of another.

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But why should we not place implicit confidence in God and rely upon His word of promise? Is anything too hard for the Lord? Has His word of promise ever failed? Then let us not entertain any unbelieving suspicions of His future care of us. Heaven and earth shall pass away—but not so His promises!

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How does God save His people from the pleasure of sin? The answer is, "By imparting to them a nature which hates evil and loves holiness." This takes place when they are born again, so that actual salvation begins with regeneration. Of course it does—where else could it commence? Fallen man can neither perceive his desperate need of salvation, nor come to Christ for it, until he has been renewed by the Holy Spirit.

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The gospel is not an announcement that God has relaxed his justice or lowered the standard of His holiness.

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Our fundamental postulate is that because God is God, He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases; that His great concern is the accomplishment of His own pleasure and the promotion of His own glory that He is the Supreme Being, and therefore Sovereign of the universe!

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Growing in grace is a deepening realization of our nothingness—it is a heartfelt recognition that we are not worthy of the least of God's mercies.

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If any occupation or association is found to hinder my communion with God or my enjoyment of spiritual things—then it must be abandoned. Anything in my habits or ways which mars happy fellowship with the brethren or robs me of power in service—is to be unsparingly judged and made an end of. Whatever I cannot do for God's glory—must be avoided.

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We must not forget that the issues of Eternity are settled in Time.

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How blessed to know that when the world hates us—God loves us!

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The best antidote for anxiety is frequent meditation upon God's goodness, power and sufficiency. Nothing is too big and nothing is too little, to spread before and cast upon the Lord.

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Instead of complaining at his lot, a contented man is thankful that his condition and circumstances are no worse than they are. Instead of greedily desiring something more than the supply of his present need—he rejoices that God still cares for him. Such an one is "content" with such as he has (Hebrews 13:5).

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To realize that the Holy Scriptures are a revelation from the Most High, communicating to us His mind and defining for us His will—is the first step toward practical godliness. To recognize that the Bible is God's Word, and that its precepts are the precepts of the Almighty—will lead us to see what a solemn thing it is to despise and ignore them.

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Faith endures as seeing Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27). Faith endures the disappointments, the hardships, and the heart-aches of life, by recognizing that all comes from the hand of Him who is too wise to err and too loving to be unkind.

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Reader! You will derive far more benefit from a single verse of Scripture read slowly and prayerfully and duly meditated upon—than you will from ten chapters read through hurriedly!

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Meditation is nearly a lost art. Lack of meditation is at the root of most of our spiritual troubles. How many complain that they find it so difficult to remember passages of Scripture—passages that they have read perhaps many times. But this is easily explained. It is because the passage was not turned over in the mind—it was not duly pondered. Meditation is a wonderful aid to fixing Scripture in our minds.

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I must read the Scriptures, as addressed to me personally!

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Love is the queen of all the Christian graces.

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The measure of our love for others—can largely be determined by the frequency and earnestness of our prayers for them.

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Prayer is not appointed for the furnishing of God with the knowledge of what we need—but it is designed as a confession to Him of our sense of the need. In this, as in everything, God's thoughts are not as ours. God requires that His gifts should be sought for. He designs to be honored by our asking, just as He is to be thanked by us after He has bestowed His blessing.

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An honest heart seeks to please God in all things—and offend Him in none.

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From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes all things, and still reigns. There is no fixed resting place for the heart and mind, but in the Throne of God. What is needed now, as never before, is a full, positive, constructive setting forth of the Godhood of God.

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A consciousness of our powerlessness, should cast us upon Him who has all power. Here then is where a vision and view of God's sovereignty helps, for it reveals His sufficiency—and shows us our insufficiency.

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When we complain about the weather, we are, in reality, murmuring against God!

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Taking up my cross, means a life voluntarily surrendered to God.

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It is only in proportion as the Christian manifests the fruit of a genuine conversion—that he is entitled to regard himself and be regarded by others as one of the called and elect of God. It is just in proportion as we add to our faith the other Christian graces—that we have solid ground on which to rest in the assurance we belong to the family of Christ. It is not those who are governed by self-will—but "as many as are led by the Spirit of God—they are the sons of God" (Romans 8:14).

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Just as the sinner's despair of any hope from himself is the first prerequisite of a sound conversion—so the loss of all confidence in himself is the first essential in the believer's growth in grace.

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Afflictions are light—when compared with what we really deserve. They are light—when compared with the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. But perhaps their real lightness is best seen by comparing them with the weight of glory which is awaiting us.

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Nothing is too great and nothing is too small—to commit into the hands of our Lord and Savior.

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Prayer is the way and means God which has appointed for the communication of the blessings of His goodness to His people.

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A 'God' whose will is resisted, whose designs are frustrated, and whose purpose is checkmated—possesses no title to Deity.

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Prayer is not so much an act—as it is an attitude of dependence—dependence upon God. Prayer is a confession of creature weakness—yes, of helplessness. Prayer is the acknowledgment of our need—and the spreading of it before God.

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True believers have always been in a marked minority.

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Real prayer is communion with God.

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For a Christian to defy adversities is to "despise" chastisement. Instead of hardening himself to endure stoically—there should be a melting of the heart.

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Most Christians expect little from God, ask little—and therefore receive little, and are content with little.

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Whatever I cannot do for God's glory, must be avoided.

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Happy the soul that has been awed by a view of God's majesty.

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Whom God legally saves, He experimentally saves. Whom He justifies—those He also sanctifies. Where the righteousness of Christ is imputed to an individual—a principle of holiness is imparted to him. The former can only be ascertained by the latter. It is impossible to obtain a Scriptural knowledge that the merits of Christ's finished work are reckoned to my account—except by proving that the efficacy of the Holy Spirit's work is evident in my soul.

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Man is unable to accurately predict events which are but twenty-four hours distant. Only the Divine Mind could have foretold the future, centuries before it came to be. Hence, we affirm with the utmost confidence, that the hundreds of fulfilled prophecies in the Bible attest and demonstrate the truth that the Scriptures are the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God.

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There is only one safeguard against error, and that is to be established in the faith. And for that, there has to be prayerful and diligent study, and a receiving with meekness the engrafted Word of God. Only then are we fortified against the attacks of those who assail us.

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After grief for sin—there should be joy for forgiveness.

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To the one who delights in the sovereignty of God—the clouds not only have a 'silver lining' but they are silver all through, the darkness only serving to offset the light!

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We must interpret the mysterious providences of God not by reason or observation, but by the Word.

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Satan is ever seeking to inject that poison into our hearts to distrust God's goodness—yet especially in connection with his commandments. That is what really lies behind all evil, lusting, and disobedience—a discontent with our position and portion, a craving from something which God has wisely held from us. Reject any suggestion that God is unduly severe with you. Resist with the utmost abhorrence, anything that causes you to doubt God's love and his loving-kindness toward you. Allow nothing to make you question the Father's love for his child.

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When you observe that the fire in your room is getting dull, you do not always put on more coal—but simply stir with the poker. Just so, God often uses the black poker of adversity in order that the flames of devotion may burn more brightly.

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God cannot change for the better, for He is already perfect. And being perfect, He cannot change for the worse.

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A natural faith is sufficient for trusting a human object—but a supernatural faith is required to savingly trust in a Divine object.

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Those circumstances, which to the dim eye of Jacob's faith, wore a hue so somber, were at that very moment developing and perfecting the events which were to shed around the evening of his life the halo of a glorious and cloudless sunset. All things were working together for his good! And so, troubled soul, the "much tribulation" will soon be over, and as you enter the "kingdom of God" you shall then see, no longer "through a glass darkly" but in the unshadowed sunlight of the Divine presence—that "all things" did "work together" for your personal and eternal good!

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Contentment is the soul's enjoyment of that peace that passes all understanding.

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Sin is more than an act or a series of acts—it is a man's nature.

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Daily living by faith on Christ, is what makes the difference between the sickly and the healthy Christian—between the defeated and the victorious saint.

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God was under no constraint, no obligation, no necessity to create. That He chose to do so was purely a sovereign act on His part, caused by nothing outside Himself, determined by nothing but His own mere good pleasure.

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The truth of God may well be likened to a narrow path skirted on either side by a dangerous and destructive precipice—in other words, it lies between two gulfs of error.

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Were God to show grace to all of Adam's descendants, men would at once conclude that He was righteously compelled to take them to Heaven as fit compensation for allowing the human race to fall into sin. But the great God in under no obligation to any of his creatures—least of all to those who are rebels against him.

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Christ is the Divine answer to the Devil's overthrow of our first parents.

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Almost all doctrinal error is really truth perverted. Truth wrongly divided. Truth disproportionately held and taught.

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The Christian life is a life that consists of following Jesus.

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Chastisement is designed for our good, to promote our highest interests. Look beyond the rod—to the All-wise hand that wields it!

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Instead of complaining at his lot—a contented man is thankful that his condition and circumstances are no worse than they are.

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Afflictions are light when compared with what we really deserve. They are light when compared with the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. But perhaps their real lightness is best seen by comparing them with the weight of glory which is awaiting us.

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Whom God legally saves—He experimentally saves. Whom He justifies—them He also sanctifies.  Where the righteousness of Christ is imputed to an individual—a principle of holiness is imparted to him; the former can only be ascertained by the latter. It is impossible to obtain a Scriptural knowledge that the merits of Christ's finished work are reckoned to my account—except by proving that the efficacy of the Holy Spirit's work is evident in my soul.

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It is sad to find so many professing Christians who appear to regard the wrath of God as something for which they need to make an apology, or at least they wish there were no such thing. While some would not go so far as to openly admit that they consider it a blemish on the Divine character, yet they are far from regarding it with delight. They do not like to think about it, and they rarely hear it mentioned without a secret resentment rising up in their hearts against it. Our readiness or our reluctance to meditate upon the wrath of God, becomes a sure test of our hearts' true attitude toward Him.

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It is only in proportion as the Christian manifests the fruit of a genuine conversion, that he is entitled to regard himself and be regarded by others as one of the called and elect of God. It is just in proportion as we add to our faith the other Christian graces—that we have solid ground on which to rest in the assurance we belong to the family of Christ. It is not those who are governed by self-will—but "as many as are led by the Spirit of God—they are the sons of God" Romans 8:14

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Prayer is a coming to God, telling Him my need, committing my way unto the Lord, and leaving Him to deal with it as seems Him best.

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Real prayer is communion with God, so that there will be common thoughts between His mind and ours. What is needed is for Him to fill our hearts with His thoughts—and then His desires will become our desires flowing back to Him.

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Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude—an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God.

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If any occupation or amusement or association is found to hinder our communion with God or our enjoyment of spiritual things—then it must be abandoned.

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Anything in my habits or ways which mars happy fellowship with the brethren or robs me of power in service, is to be unsparingly judged and made an end of—'burned.' (Leviticus 13:52) Whatever I cannot do for God's glory—must be avoided!

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Whom God legally saves—He experimentally saves.

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If a church does not evangelize, it will fossilize!

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There are some ministers who are actually false prophets and apostles of Satan. These preachers deny the enormity of sin, the wrath of God upon sinners, and Jesus as the only true way to God.

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Christ comes with a blessing in each hand: forgiveness in one hand, holiness in the other!

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God is working out His eternal purpose, not only in spite of human and satanic opposition—but also by means of them!

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The holiness of God is manifested in His works, His law, and on the cross. The only response that the believer can give, is reverence.

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The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatever He pleases.

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The wrath of God is His eternal detesting of all unrighteousness. God's wrath was demonstrated at the fall, and at the cross.

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To speak about the Godhood of God, is to affirm that God truly is God.

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One of the surest tests to apply to the professed conversion, is the heart's attitude toward sin. Where the principle of holiness has been planted, there will necessarily be a loathing of all that is unholy. If our hatred of evil is genuine, we are thankful when the Word reproves even the evil which we did not suspect.

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"Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

I will name some of the criteria by which I measure the helpfulness of a preacher or writer to my own soul.

The one who most profits me, is the man . . . whose ministry brings most of the awe of a holy and sovereign God on my heart, who reveals to me my sinfulness and failures, who conveys most light on the path of duty, who makes Christ most precious to me, who encourages me to press forward along the narrow way.

"Watch your life and doctrine closely." 1 Timothy 4:16

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"If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in His eyes—how much less man, who is but a maggot—a son of man, who is only a worm!" Job 25:5-6

How little is it realized that there is an immeasurable gulf between God and sinner. The religion of present-day Christendom is but a studied effort to hide the solemn truth that man has forfeited the favor of God and is barred from His holy presence. The religion of today proceeds on the assumption that God is favorably disposed even unto those who spend most of their time trampling His commandments beneath their feet.

"God is a just judge—and God is angry with the wicked every day." Psalm 7:11

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"I am the LORD, and I do not change!" Malachi 3:6

Herein is solid comfort. Human nature cannot be relied upon—but God can! However unstable I may be, however fickle my friends may prove, God never changes. If He varied as we do, if He willed one thing today and another tomorrow, if He were controlled by caprice—then who could confide in Him? But He is ever the same.

His purpose is fixed, His will is stable, His word is sure.

Here then is a rock on which we may fix our feet, while the mighty torrent sweeps away everything around us.

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Oftentimes God's chastenings instead of being retributive, are corrective. They are sent to empty us of self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. They are given to discover to us hidden transgressions, and to teach us the plague of our own hearts. Or again, chastisements are sent to strengthen our faith, to raise us to higher levels of experience, to bring us into a condition of usefulness. Still again, Divine chastisement is sent as a preventative, to keep under pride, to save us from being unduly elated over success in God's service.

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"As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix trembled!" Acts 24:25

Alas, how little of such zeal and fidelity is there today on the part of those who profess to be the ministers of God!

How little is there in their preaching which makes the hearer 'tremble'!

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If a foundation is to be laid for true evangelism—then doctrinal instruction must be given . . . on the character of God,  on the requirements of His law, on the nature and heinousness of sin.

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Searching questions!

Are you as willing for Christ to rule you—as to save you?

Do you pray as earnestly for purity—as for pardon?

Are you as anxious to be delivered from the power of sin—as you are from the fires of Hell?

Do you desire holiness—as much as you do Heaven?

Is the dominion of sin as dreadful to you—as its wages?

Does the filthiness of sin grieve you as much—as the guilt and damnation of it?

Is it truly my longing and resolve to be wholly regulated by the Divine will?

Is it the deepest yearning of my soul and the chief aim of my life to honor and glorify Him?

Is it my daily prayer for Him to work in me both to will and to do of His good pleasure?

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Modern theology (if it deserves to be called theology) presents to man a parody of God, who commands the respect of none, who is disrobed of His august and glorious majesty, who, far from doing His will in the armies of Heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth—is pictured as a kindly petitioner seeking favors at the hands of worms of the dust.

Such a God has no powerful voice which shakes the earth and makes guilty rebels quail—but only offers entreaties which may be despised with impunity.

If God is unable to enforce His will—then He ceases to be God!

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The "god" of this twentieth century no more resembles the Supreme Sovereign of Holy Writ than does the dim flickering of a candle, the glory of the midday sun. The "god" who is now talked about in the average pulpit, spoken of in the ordinary Sunday School, mentioned in much of the religious literature of the day, and preached in most of the so-called Bible Conferences—is the figment of human imagination, an invention of maudlin sentimentality. The heathen outside of the pale of Christendom form "gods" out of wood and stone, while the millions of heathen inside Christendom manufacture a "god" out of their own carnal mind. In reality, they are but atheists, for there is no other possible alternative between an absolutely supreme God, and no God at all. A "god" whose will is resisted, whose designs are frustrated, whose purpose is check-mated, possesses no title to Deity, and so far from being a fit object of worship, merits nothing but contempt!

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There are seasons in the lives of all when it is not easy, not even for Christians, to believe that God is faithful. Our faith is sorely tried, our eyes dimmed with tears, and we can no longer trace the outworking of His love. Our ears are distracted with the noises of the world, harassed by the atheistic whisperings of Satan, and we can no longer hear the sweet accents of His still small voice. Cherished plans have been thwarted, friends on whom we have relied have failed us, a professed brother or sister in Christ has betrayed us. We are staggered. We sought to be faithful to God—and now a dark cloud hides Him from us. We find it difficult, yes, impossible, for carnal reason to harmonize His frowning providence with His gracious promises.

Ah, faltering soul, seek grace to heed Isaiah 50:10, "Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God."

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The kindest thing we can do for the unsaved, is to shatter their self-righteous hopes—and to make them realize both their utter helplessness and their entire inexcusableness. The high demands of God are to be pressed upon them, with the design of bringing them to cry to Him to graciously work in them that which He requires. Genuine conviction of sin consists in a through realization of responsibility and guilt—and of our inability and dependence upon divine grace. Nothing is so well calculated to produce that conviction, under the Spirit's blessing, as the faithful preaching of this unpalatable truth.

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It is no light thing to reject any part of eternal truth—such as sovereign election. Nay, it is a most solemn and serious matter so to do. God's Word is not given to us to pick and choose from—to single out those portions which appeal to us, and to disdain whatever does not commend itself to our reason and sentiments. God's Word is given to us as a whole, and by it each of us must yet be judged. To reject the grand truth of God's sovereign election is the height of impiety—for to repudiate the doctrine, is to repudiate the God of election. It is a refusal to bow before His high sovereignty. It is the corrupt creature opposing himself against the holy Creator. It is presumptuous pride which insists upon being the determiner of its own destiny.

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Nothing else will . . .
preserve from the infections of this world,
deliver from the temptations of Satan,
and be so effective a preservative against sin,
as the Word of God received into the affections. "The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide!" Psalm 37:31

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Let the character of God be faithfully presented as it is actually portrayed in the Scriptures—in the Old Testament as well as in the New—and nine out of every ten church-goers will frankly state that they find it "impossible to love Him."

The plain fact is, dear reader, that to the present generation the Most High of Holy Writ is "the unknown God!"

It is just because people today are so ignorant of the divine character and so lacking in godly fear—that they are quite in the dark as to the nature and glory of divine justice—and presume to arraign it.

This is an age of blatant irreverence, wherein lumps of animate clay dare to prescribe what the Almighty ought and ought not to do! Our forefathers sowed the wind—and today their children are reaping the whirlwind. Our modern church-goers have no respect for the Creator, and if His high sovereignty and absolute dominion over all be insisted upon—they do not hesitate to vomit forth their condemnation of Him!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The holy Word of God does not come to us begging acceptance at the bar of human reason. Instead, it demands that human reason surrender itself to its divine authority, and unmurmuringly receive its inerrant contents. It emphatically and repeatedly warns men that if they despise its authority and reject its teachings—it is to their certain eternal undoing. It is by that Word each of us shall be weighed, measured and judged in the great day. Therefore it is the part of human wisdom to bow to and thankfully receive its inspired declarations.

The supreme act of right reason, my reader, is to unreservedly submit unto divine wisdom—and to accept the revelation which God has graciously given to us with childlike simplicity. Any other, any different attitude thereto, is utterly unreasonable—the derangement of pride. How thankful we should be that the Ancient of Days condescends to instruct us.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

We ask the reader—ought not the doctrine of election to be plainly and freely proclaimed?

If God's Word is full of it, if the gospel cannot be Scripturally preached without it, if the grace of God cannot be maintained when it is suppressed, if the proclamation of it abases man into the dust, if it is a divinely appointed means of faith, if it is a powerful incentive unto the promotion of holiness, if it stirs in the soul the spirit of praise, if it establishes the Christian in his eternal security, if it is such a source of stability to the servant of God, if it supplies encouragement to praying souls, if it works in us a sweet submission to the divine will— then shall we refuse to give unto God's children this valuable bread, merely because dogs snap at it!

Shall we withhold from the sheep this vital ingredient of their food—simply because the goats cannot digest it!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

(Regarding the signs of the times craze) 
There is nothing in such teaching that edifies the soul or promotes a closer walking with God. On the contrary, an absorption with such matters instead of drawing the affections unto things above and purifying the mind—drags down the one, and defiles the other. If such speakers and writers would give the 'antichrist' a long rest and preach Christ, it would be far better. All this emotional and sensational claptrap on "the signs of the times" will neither hasten nor retard Christ's return by a single moment!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Christ, not faith is the sinners Savior.  Faith is simply the empty hand extended to receive from Him.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

"My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please!" Isaiah 46:10

"Our God is in Heaven—He does whatever pleases Him." Psalm 115:3

God's decrees are being executed. What He has ordained in eternity past—is being accomplished.

Man's wickedness is bounded. The limits of evil-doing and of evil-doers has been Divinely ordained and cannot be exceeded.

Though many are in ignorance of it—all men are under the jurisdiction of and are absolutely subject to the administration of the Supreme Sovereign.

"The LORD does whatever pleases Him—in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths!" Psalm 135:6

"All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of Heaven and the peoples of the earth!" Daniel 4:35

"Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns!" Revelation 19:6

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Marriage is not a mere civil thing, but is partly spiritual and Divine, and therefore God alone has the power to appoint the beginning, the continuance, and the end thereof. All history bears witness to the fact that when vital goodness is at a low ebb, the sacred institution of marriage is held in light esteem. It is both solemn and sad to behold an exemplification of the same in our own times; as the claims of God are less and less regarded by those of high and low estate alike; the holy obligations of wedlock are gradually whittled down and then increasingly disregarded. When a country, avowedly Christian, begins to tamper with the institution of marriage and make more elastic its divorce laws, it is a certain proof of its ethical decadence.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

As attitude of fatalistic inertia, because I know that God has irrevocably decreed whatever comes to pass—is to make a sinful and hurtful use of what God has revealed for the comfort of my heart. The same God who has decreed that a certain end shall be accomplished, has also decreed that the end shall be attained through and as the result of His own appointed means. God does not disdain the use of means—nor must I. God has, from the beginning, chosen a people unto salvation—but that does not mean there is no need for evangelists to preach the Gospel, or for sinners to believe it; it is by such means that His eternal counsels are effectuated. It is only by taking heed to this vital principle, that we are responsible to use the means of God's appointing, that we shall be enabled to preserve the balance of Truth, and be saved from a paralyzing fatalism.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

A true recognition of God's sovereignty, will avow God's perfect right to do with us as He wills. The one who bows to the good pleasure of the Almighty—will acknowledge His absolute right to do with us as seems Him good. If He chooses to send poverty, sickness, domestic bereavements—then even while the heart is bleeding at every pore, it will say, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is right!" The tempestuous flood within will be quieted—and the subdued soul will lift a tearful but confident eye to Heaven and say, "Father, may Your will be done!"

   ~ ~ ~ ~

That which sinners need to have brought before them is . . .
  the ineffable holiness,
  the exacting righteousness,
  the inflexible justice,
  and the terrible wrath of God!

They must know of . . . their absolutely ruined and lost condition, their imminent and awful danger of suffering eternal wrath, and the fearful guilt resting upon them in the sight of God.

To present Christ to those who have never been shown their need of Him—is to be guilty of casting pearls before swine!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

"It is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs—but of God who shows mercy!" Romans 9:16

The doctrine of God's sovereignty lays the axe to the root of this evil tree of "free will".

Does someone say, "Such a doctrine will drive sinners to despair!"

The reply is, "Be it so—it is just such despair the writer longs to see prevail."

It is not until the sinner despairs of any help from himself—that he will ever fall into the arms of sovereign mercy. But if the Holy Spirit convicts him that there is no help in himself—then he will recognize that he is lost and will cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" Such a cry will be heard.

If the author may be allowed to bear personal witness, he has found during the course of his ministry, that the sermons he has preached on human depravity, the sinner's helplessness to do anything himself, and the salvation of the soul turning upon the sovereign mercy of God—have been those most owned and blessed in the salvation of the lost.

A sense of utter helplessness is the first prerequisite to any sound conversion.

There is no salvation for any soul, until it looks away from itself—and looks to Jesus alone.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Has your study of the Bible made you more humble—or proud of the knowledge you have acquired? 
Has it raised you in the esteem of your fellow men—or has it led you to take a lower place before God? 
Has it produced in you a deeper abhorrence and loathing of self—or has it made you more complacent? 
Has it caused those you mingle with, or perhaps teach, to say "I wish I had your knowledge of the Bible"—or does it cause you to pray, Lord give me the faith, the grace, the holiness You have granted my friend, or teacher?

   ~ ~ ~ ~

With few exceptions, all the notes and comments in the Scofield Bible are unreliable and unsound.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Nothing is too great and nothing is too small, to commit into the hands of the Lord.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Let us not conclude when we see a fellow-Christian under the rod of God that he is necessarily being taken to task for his sins.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Mercifulness is a gracious disposition toward our fellow creatures and fellow Christians. It is a spirit of kindness and benevolence which sympathizes with the sufferings of the afflicted, so that we weep with those that weep. It ennobles its possessor so that he tempers justice with mercy, and scorns the taking of revenge.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

It is when we have received some special mark of the Lord's favor, or immediately after we have enjoyed some unusual season of communion with Him—that we need most to be on our guard!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

There is only one safeguard against error—and that is to be established in the faith. And for that, there has to be prayerful and diligent study, and a receiving with meekness the engrafted Word of God.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The wrath of God is . . .  
His eternal detestation of all unrighteousness,  
the displeasure and indignation of Divine equity against evil,   
the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The immutability of God's character—guarantees the fulfillment of his promises.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The ungodly would strip Deity of His omniscience if they could! What a proof that "the carnal mind is enmity against God!"  The wicked wish there might be . . .  
no Witness of their sins,  
no Searcher of their hearts,  
no Judge of their deeds. 
They seek to banish such a God from their thoughts!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Holiness consists of that internal change or renovation of our souls, whereby our minds, affections and wills are brought into harmony with God.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Divine sovereignty is not the sovereignty of a tyrannical Despot—but the exercised pleasure of One who is infinitely wise and good! Because God is infinitely wise He cannot err, and because He is infinitely righteous—He will not do wrong. Here then is the preciousness of this truth. The mere fact itself that God's will is irresistible and irreversible fills me with fear; but once I realize that God wills only that which is good, my heart is made to rejoice.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

We are ever prone to regard sin lightly, to gloss over its hideousness, to make excuses for it. But the more we study and ponder God's abhorrence of sin and His frightful vengeance upon it—the more likely are we to realize its heinousness.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

There will be many in the Lake of Fire who were moral, merciful and magnanimous—but who never saw themselves as guilty, lost, Hell-deserving sinners needing a Savior.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Prayer is not appointed for the furnishing of God with the knowledge of what we need—but it is designed as a confession to Him of our sense of the need.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The parent is to punish a disobedient child not because he is angry—but because God requires it, and the welfare of the child demands it.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

God was under no constraint, no obligation, no necessity to create. That He chose to do so was purely a sovereign act on His part, caused by nothing outside Himself, determined by nothing but His own mere good pleasure.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Contentment is the product of a heart resting in God. It is the soul's enjoyment of that peace that passes all understanding. It is the outcome of my will being brought into subjection to the Divine will. It is the blessed assurance that God does all things well, and is, even now, making all things work together for my ultimate good.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Prayer is the way and means God has appointed for the communication of the blessings of His goodness to His people.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The Christian who has stopped repenting has stopped growing.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

What is God's remedy for dejection at apparent failure in our labors? This—the assurance that God's purpose cannot fail, that God's plans cannot miscarry, that God's will must be done. Our labors are not intended to bring about that which God has not decreed.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The carnal mind is at enmity against God (Romans 8:7), and the more His children are conformed to His image—the more they will bring down upon themselves the spite of His foes. Being "persecuted for righteousness sake" (Matthew 5:10) means being opposed because of holy living. Those who perform their Christian duty, condemn those who live to please self—and therefore evoke their hatred. This persecution assumes various forms, from annoying and taunting to opposing and tormenting.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

If lustful looking is so grievous a sin—then those who dress and expose themselves with desires to be looked at and lusted after, are not less, but even more guilty. In this matter it is only too often the case that men sin—but women tempt them so to do. How great, then, must be the guilt of the great majority of the modern misses who deliberately seek to arouse the sexual passions of our young men. And how much greater still is the guilt of most of their mothers, for allowing them to become lewd temptresses!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

One of the best evidences that we are truly seeking Heaven, is the possession of hearts that are weaned from this world. None will ever enter the Father's House on high in whose soul the first fruits of heavenly peace and joy does not grow now. He who finds his satisfaction in temporal things is woefully deceived, if he imagines he can enjoy eternal things. He whose joy is all gone when earthly possessions are snatched from him, knows nothing of that peace which "passes all understanding." And yet, if the auto, radio, newspaper, money to go to the movies, were taken away from the average church member—what would he then have left to make life worth living?

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Growth in grace is growth downward.  It is the forming of a lower estimate of ourselves.  It is a deepening realization of our nothingness.  It is a heartfelt recognition that we are not worthy of the least of God's mercies.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The success of an illegitimate coiner depends largely upon how closely the counterfeit resembles the genuine article. Heresy is not so much the total denial of the truth—as a perversion of it. That is why half a lie is always more dangerous than a complete repudiation. Hence when the Father of Lies enters the pulpit it is not his custom to flatly deny the fundamental truths of Christianity, rather does he tacitly acknowledge them, and then proceed to give an erroneous interpretation and a false application.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Any preacher who denies that repentance to be a condition of salvation, who assures the giddy and godless that they are loved by God, who declares that saving faith is nothing more than an act of the will which every person has the power to perform—is a false prophet and should be shunned as a deadly plague!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Unspeakably solemn is it to see so many abusing this Divine perfection of God's mercy. The ungodly continue to despise God's authority, trample upon His laws, continue in sin—and yet presume upon His mercy. But God will not be unjust to Himself. God shows mercy to the truly penitent, but not to the impenitent (Luke 13:3). To continue in sin and yet reckon upon Divine mercy remitting punishment is diabolical. It is saying, "Let us do evil that good may come," and of all such it is written, whose "damnation is just!" Romans 3:8

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The most important duty, respecting both the temporal and spiritual good of your children, is fervent supplication to God for them. Without this, all the rest of your parental duties will be ineffectual. Means are unavailing, unless the Lord blesses them. The Throne of Grace is to be earnestly implored, that your efforts to bring up your children for God may be crowned with success.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

God is true. His Word of Promise is sure. In all His relations with His people God is faithful. He may be safely relied upon.  No one ever yet really trusted Him in vain. We find this precious truth expressed almost everywhere in the Scriptures, for His people need to know that faithfulness is an essential part of the Divine character. This is the basis of our confidence in Him.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Yield yourself to Christ's claims. Give Him the throne of your heart. Turn over to Him the regulation of your life. Trust in His atoning death. Love Him with all your soul. Obey Him with all your might—and He will conduct you to Heaven.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Indifference to sin is a moral blemish, and he who does not hate sin is a moral leper. How could He who is the Sum of all excellency, look with equal satisfaction upon virtue and vice, wisdom and folly? How could He who is infinitely holy, disregard sin and refuse to manifest His "severity" (Romans 9:12) toward it? How could He who delights only in that which is pure and lovely, loathe and hate not that which is impure and vile? The very nature of God makes Hell as real a necessity, as imperatively and eternally requisite as Heaven is. Not only is there no imperfection in God, but there is no perfection in Him that is less perfect than another.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Consider an argument from the less to the greater. In the human sphere he who loves purity and chastity and has no wrath against impurity and unchastity, is a moral leper. He who pities the poor and defenseless and has no wrath against the oppressor who crushes the weak and slays the defenseless, but loves them too, is a fiend. Divine wrath is Divine Holiness in activity. Because God is holy He hates sin, and because He hates sin His anger burns against the sinner.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Good instructions are to be accompanied by good example. That teaching which issues only from the lips, is not at all likely to sink any deeper than the ears. Children are particularly quick to detect inconsistencies, and despise hypocrisy. How parents need to be constantly on their guard against anything which might render them contemptible in the eyes of those who should respect and revere them!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

People argue that God is loving and merciful—and therefore God's anger is merely a bogey-man with which to frighten naughty children. But how do we know that God is loving and merciful? The heathen do not believe that He is. Nor does nature clearly and uniformly reveal the fact. The answer is, we know God to be such, because His Word so affirms. Yes, and the same Bible which tells of God's mercy speaks of His wrath, and as a matter of fact, refers much more frequently to His anger, than it does to His love.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Gratitude is the return justly required from the objects of His beneficence; yet it is often withheld from our great Benefactor, simply because His goodness is so constant and so abundant. It is lightly esteemed, because it is exercised toward us in the common course of events. It is not felt, because we daily experience it.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Thousands are deceived into supposing that they have "accepted Christ" as their "personal Savior," who have not first received Him as their Lord. The Son of God did not come here to save His people in their sin, but "from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). To be saved from sins, is to be saved from ignoring and despising the authority of God; it is to abandon the course of self-will and self-pleasing; it is to "forsake our way" (Isaiah  55:7). It is to surrender to God's authority, to yield to His dominion, to give ourselves over to be ruled by Him.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The wrath of God is His eternal detestation of all unrighteousness.  It is the displeasure and indignation of Divine equity against evil.  It is the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Unbelief, and a thousand evils, are still in our hearts. Though their reign and dominion is at an end, they are not slain or eradicated. Their efforts will be felt more or less sensibly, as the Lord is pleased more or less to afford or abate His gracious influence.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

It is only those who truly love Christ, that are fitted to minister to His flock! The work is so laborious, the appreciation is often so small, the response so discouraging, the criticisms so harsh, the attacks of Satan so fierce—that only the "love of Christ"—His for us and ours for Him—can "constrain" to such work. "Hirelings" will feed the goats, but only those who love Christ can feed His sheep.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

A study of the concordance will show that there are more references in Scripture to the anger, fury, and wrath of God, than there are to His love and tenderness. Because God is holy, He hates all sin; And because He hates all sin, His anger burns against the sinner! "God is a just judge. God is angry with the wicked every day!" Psalm 7:11. As in Christ "dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9), and as all the Divine perfections are illustriously displayed by Him (John 1:18), therefore do we read of "the wrath of the Lamb" Revelation 6:16

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The lost sinner is treading a path more slippery than ice—and unless he forsake it, in due time his foot shall slide. The bow of God's wrath is already bent! The arrow of His vengeance is even now fitted to the string, and nothing but His infinite forbearance stays its release!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Meditation upon the Word of God is one of the most important of all the means of grace and growth in spirituality. Yes, there can be no true progress in vital and practical godliness without it. Meditation on Divine things is not optional but obligatory, for it is something which God has commanded us to attend unto.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

What is sin? Sin is a species of rebellion against God. It is self-pleasing. It is the utter ignoring of God's claims—being completely indifferent whether my conduct pleases or displeases Him.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

God's holiness is manifested at the Cross. Wondrously and yet most solemnly, does the Atonement display God's infinite holiness and abhorrence of sin.  How hateful must sin be to God, for Him to punish it to its utmost deserts when it was imputed to His Son!

The "god" which the vast majority of professing Christians "love" is looked upon very much like an indulgent old man, who himself has no relish for folly, but leniently winks at the "indiscretions" of youth.  But the Word says, "You hate all workers of iniquity" (Psalm 5:5).  And again, "God is angry with the wicked every day" (Psalm 7:11).  But men refuse to believe in this God, and gnash their teeth when His hatred of sin is faithfully pressed upon their attention.  Sinful man was no more likely to devise a holy God, than to create the Lake of fire in which he will be tormented for ever and ever.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The new birth is very much more than simply shedding a few tears due to a temporary remorse over sin. It is far more than changing our course of life—the leaving off of bad habits and the substituting of good ones. It is something different from the mere nourishing and practicing of noble ideals. It goes infinitely deeper than coming forward to take some popular evangelist by the hand, signing a pledge-card, or "joining a church." The new birth is no mere turning over a new leaf—but is the inception and reception of a new life. It is no mere reformation—but a radical transformation. In short, the new birth is a miracle, the result of the supernatural operation of God. It is radical, revolutionary, lasting!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The lost sinner sees little cause for alarm and fails to apprehend his imperative need of promptly accepting Christ as his Savior. He imagines himself secure. He goes on in his sin, and because judgment against an evil work is not executed speedily, he increases in his boldness against God. But God's ways are different to ours. There is no need for God to be in a hurry—all eternity is at His disposal. He is in no haste to execute judgment because He knows that the sinner cannot escape Him. It is impossible to flee out of His dominions! In due time, every transgression and disobedience shall receive "a just recompense of reward."

   ~ ~ ~ ~

False prophets are to be found in the circles of the most orthodox, and they pretend to have a fervent love for souls—yet they fatally delude multitudes concerning the way of salvation. The pulpit, platform, and pamphlet hucksters have wantonly lowered the standard of divine holiness and so adulterated the Gospel in order to make it palatable to the carnal mind!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Because the Christian is not his own, but bought with a price—he is to aim at glorifying God in every relation of life. No matter what station he occupies, or wherever he is—he is to serve as a witness for Christ. Next to the church of God, his own home should be the sphere of his most manifest devotedness unto Him. All its arrangements should bear the stamp of his heavenly calling. All its affairs should be so ordered that everyone entering it should feel "God is here!"

   ~ ~ ~ ~

We discover a striking proof of the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures. In the Bible human nature is painted in its true colors. The characters of its heroes are faithfully depicted, and the sins of its most prominent personages are frankly recorded. It is human to err, but it is also human to conceal the blemishes of those we admire. Had the Bible been a human production, had it been written by uninspired historians, the defects of its leading characters would have been ignored—or if recorded at all, an attempt at extenuation would have been made. 

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The supreme example of the controlling, directing influence which God exerts upon the wicked—is the Cross of Christ with all its attendant circumstances. If ever the superintending providence of God was witnessed, it was there. From all eternity God had predestined every detail of that event of all events. Nothing was left to chance or the caprice of man. God had decreed when and where and how His blessed Son was to die. Not a thing occurred except as God had ordained, and all that He had ordained took place exactly as He purposed. "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel—to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur!" Acts 4:27-28

   ~ ~ ~ ~

God not only knows whatsoever has happened in the past in every part of His vast domains, and He is not only thoroughly acquainted with everything that is now transpiring throughout the entire universe—but He is also perfectly cognizant of every event, from the least to the greatest, that ever will happen in the ages to come. God's knowledge of the future, is as complete as is His knowledge of the past and the present—and that, because the future depends entirely upon Himself. Were it in anyway possible for something to occur apart from either the direct agency or permission of God, then that something would be independent of Him, and He would at once cease to be Supreme.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Any preacher who denies repentance to be a condition of salvation, who assures the giddy and godless that they are loved by God, who declares that saving faith is nothing more than an act of the will which every person has the power to perform—is a false prophet and should be shunned as a deadly plague!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The writer has met many people who profess to be Christians, but whose daily lives differ in nothing from thousands of non-professors all around them. They are rarely, if ever, found at the prayer-meeting, they have no family worship, they seldom read the Scriptures, they will not talk with you about the things of God, their walk is thoroughly worldly—and yet they are quite sure that they are bound for Heaven! Inquire into the ground of their confidence, and they will tell you that so many years ago they accepted Christ as their Savior, and "once saved, always saved" is now their comfort. There are thousands of such people on earth today, who are nevertheless, on the Broad Road that leads to destruction, treading it with a false peace in their hearts and a vain profession on their lips!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Christ died not in order to make God love us—but because He did love His people. Calvary is the supreme demonstration of Divine love. Whenever you are tempted to doubt the love of God, Christian reader, go back to Calvary!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Most assuredly God will require an account of the children from the parents' hands, for they are His, and only lent to their care and keeping.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The apostles of Satan are not saloon-keepers and white-slave traffickers, but are for the most part ordained ministers! Thousands of those who occupy our modern pulpits are no longer engaged in presenting the fundamentals of the Christian Faith, but have turned aside from the truth and have given heed unto fables. Instead of magnifying the enormity of sin and setting forth its eternal consequences—they minimize it by declaring that sin is merely ignorance or the absence of good. Instead of warning their hearers to "flee from the wrath to come!" they make God a liar by declaring that He is too loving and merciful to send any of His own creatures to eternal torment. Instead of declaring that "without shedding of blood is no remission of sin," they merely hold up Christ as the great Exemplar and exhort their hearers to "follow in His steps."

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The advantages and blessings of family worship are incalculable. First, family worship will prevent much sin. It awes the soul, conveys a sense of God's majesty and authority, sets solemn truths before the mind, brings down benefits from God on the home. Personal piety in the home is a most influential means, under God, of conveying piety to the little ones. Children are largely creatures of imitation, loving to copy what they see in others.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The success of a counterfeit coiner depends largely upon how closely the counterfeit resembles the genuine article. Heresy is not so much the total denial of the truth, as a perversion of it. That is why half a lie is always more dangerous than a complete repudiation. Hence when the Father of Lies enters the pulpit, it is not his custom to flatly deny the fundamental truths of Christianity—rather does he tacitly acknowledge them, and then proceed to give an erroneous interpretation and a false application.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The Gospel contemplates every descendant of Adam as a fallen, polluted, hell-deserving and helpless sinner. The grace which the Gospel publishes, is his only hope. All stand before God convicted as transgressors of His holy law, as guilty and condemned criminals, who are not merely awaiting sentence, but the execution of sentence already passed upon them (John 3:18; Romans 3:19). To complain against the partiality of grace is suicidal. If the sinner insists upon bare justice, then the Lake of Fire must be his eternal portion. His only hope lies in bowing to the sentence which Divine justice has passed upon him, owning the absolute righteousness of it, casting himself on the mercy of God, and stretching forth empty hands to avail himself of the grace of God now made known to him in the Gospel.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Such, in brief, is the portion awaiting the lost: eternal separation from the Fountain of all goodness;  everlasting punishment;  torment of soul and body;  endless existence in the Lake of Fire, in association with the vilest of the vile;  every ray of hope excluded;  utterly crushed and overwhelmed by the wrath of a sin-avenging God!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

To deny the Divine decrees would be to predicate a world and all its concerns, regulated by undesigned chance or blind fate. Then what peace, what assurance, what comfort would there be for our poor hearts and minds? What refuge would there be to fly to in the hour of need and trial? None at all. There would be nothing better than the black darkness and abject horror of atheism. O my reader, how thankful should we be that everything is determined by infinite wisdom and goodness! What praise and gratitude are due unto God for His Divine decrees!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

When the solemn and blessed subject of Divine foreordination is expounded, when God's eternal choice of certain ones to be conformed to the image of His Son is set forth—the Enemy sends along some man to argue that election is based upon the foreknowledge of God, and this "foreknowledge" is interpreted to mean that God foresaw certain ones would be more pliable than others, that they would respond more readily to the strivings of the Spirit—and that because God knew they would believe, He, accordingly, predestinated them unto salvation.   But such a statement is radically wrong. It repudiates the truth of total depravity, for it argues that there is something good in some men. It takes away the independence of God, for it makes His decrees rest upon what He discovers in the creature. It completely turns things upside down, for in saying God foresaw certain sinners would believe in Christ, and that because of this, He predestinated them unto salvation—is the very reverse of the truth.

Scripture affirms that God, in His high sovereignty, singled out certain ones to be recipients of His distinguishing favors (Acts 13:48), and therefore He determined to bestow upon them the gift of faith. False theology makes God's foreknowledge of our believing, the cause of His election to salvation; whereas, God's election is the cause, and our believing in Christ is the effect.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Contentment is the product of a heart resting in God. It is the soul's enjoyment of that peace that surpasses all understanding. It is the outcome of my will being brought into subjection to the Divine will. It is the blessed assurance that God does all things well, and is, even now, making all things work together for my ultimate good!

   ~ ~ ~ ~

The decrees of God relate to all future things without exception. Whatever is done in time, was foreordained before time began. God's purpose was concerned with everything, whether great or small, whether good or evil.

   ~ ~ ~ ~

Repentance is the hand releasing those filthy objects it had previously clung to so tenaciously.  
Faith is extending an empty hand to God to receive His gift of grace.   

Repentance is a godly sorrow for sin.  
Faith is receiving a sinner's Savior.   

Repentance is revulsion of the filth and pollution of sin.  
Faith is a seeking of cleansing therefrom.   

Repentance is the sinner covering his mouth and crying, "Unclean, unclean!"  
Faith is the leper coming to Christ and saying, "Lord, if You will, You can make me clean."