Praise to God for His Grace

 

I did not come to Thee, Lord,

Until I heard Thy call.

Nor wanted to be free, until

Thou didst my soul enthrall. 

A joyful slave, with sin-stopped ears,

I wandered lost for many years.

 

I did not hear Thy call, Lord,

Till Thou mine ears didst heal.

I could not see Thy beauty till

Thyself Thou didst reveal,

And NEVER would have come to Thee,

If Thou hadst not my soul set free.

 

Oh, wondrous grace! I praise Thy Name,

Oh, Thou who madest mine eyes to see;

And madest me love Thee from that day

Thou brakest my chains and set me free.

 

Oh, sing, my soul, and dance with joy!

Sweet grace the rebel's heart doth claim!

And let me ev'ry part employ

To magnify His awesome Name.

 

mlc  10/20/12

 



Grace Upon Grace

 

 

I loved my sin and did not care
For holy things and saints of God,
Nor wished to breathe celestial air -
Content, this darkened earth I trod.
I had no longing for the Lord,
His beauty I refused to see,
Nor trembled at His holy Word:
I mocked and scorned sweet Wisdom's plea.

But then an awesome sight I saw:
A Saviour, hanging on a tree.
Grace then did make me turn aside
And there the Lamb did speak to me:
"'Tis for your sin, this crown of thorns;
Your wicked ways My blood does spill;
In love divine I pour it out,
To bring you captive to My will."

And gently He did turn my heart
To love His saints and all His ways;
To long to be at home with Him
In light, for everlasting days.
He drew me then to follow Him -
His wondrous glory filled my sight;
Now wisdom's path I long to tread,
And His sweet law is my delight.

 

mlc 10-20-12

Maybe?

I might start blogging again. I really like to write, and if it is helpful to anyone in any way, I am glad to do it. God is so good, and has done so much in my life, that I like to praise Him in the things I write, and share that with others. There is none so great as our Lord Jesus Christ, and I want to lift Him up.

One person who is incredibly impressive for his desire for God and his intensity in preaching and writing, and, I guess in person (I would like to meet him) is John Piper. If you want to be blessed by good, sound preaching, you should listen at www.desiringGod.org. Go to the resource library, click on "sermons" and you can listen. We have been listening to his preaching through Romans, which you can access by choosing the category "by series". Also, there are a number of excellent books by him, that would bless you greatly if you read them.

I want to know Christ to the fullest, whatever that may be in this life, and Piper has helped me greatly along that road.

"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death (Wow!); if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." We don't want to die, but if we don't, we won't be resurrected!

Blessed Christmas

At work, we have the radio going all the time. I am privileged to listen to country music one week, and classic rock music the next, alternating each week. The radios in the areas where I work are usually loud enough to hear all the words of the songs. I say that I am privileged because, though I would not choose those stations myself as my personal listening preferences, anything that the Lord has in my life is there because He has placed it there, and is using it for His glory and my refinement as a Christian.

Most of the country music is newer, so I did not recognize but a song or two. I grew up listening to country music, so I know many of the songs from the 60s and 70s. The rock music is from the 60s, 70s and 80s, and I know most of those, because I changed my music to match most of my peers when I was in high school. In both of the categories, rock and country, there are a few songs that I like, but not many. In the rock category, I often find myself turning away from some of the favorites I had as a teenager and afterwards, because their lyrics are about things I have laid aside in order to draw closer to Jesus Christ. He is more lovely than anything those songs promise. The subject matter of the song provides for temptations to dwell on things that draw me away from Him. That is the case with much of the country music as well. I cannot enjoy it, and I really do not want to enjoy it.

The title of this blog entry has to do with Christmas. Well, on these radio stations they are playing Christmas songs among the others. There is sometimes contradiction between the Christmas music and the others. To illustrate, the song "O Holy Night" was playing on the rock station when we came back from lunch one day. It was very well done, and I was greatly blessed by hearing it. Immediately following this, however, with no pause for reflection, the radio blasted out Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust." Much of the blessing from O Holy Night was quickly gone.

I think that probably I was the only one there who had a problem with the station playing Queen right after O Holy Night. But that is where people are. Whether country or rock, when they listen at Christmas they expect to hear some Christmas songs along with their usual fare. It is, at least, a small acknowledgment of the Saviour in a world that has pretty much forgotten Him. But it indicates the effect of religion on the lives of the general populous of America. A little bit here and there is alright, but it doesn't change the way I live, and life pretty much goes on as normal, no matter whether or not there was a Saviour born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. That's how I lived before I knew Christ. I liked Christmas. But the Saviour seemed so strange, so out of place, not even a real person. Pretty much like Santa Claus.

Lord, Thou Hast the Words

Agony over not having a feeling of God's presence, so many temptations to lay down arms, to turn away from Christ. I cannot do it. He has the words of eternal life. He is the Joy that is evermore at the right hand of God. I love Him - how can I leave Him? And yet, as I say that, there are a thousand voices ready to tempt me to do just that. My wicked heart would deify every blessing that God gives me, loving the blessings and not the Blesser. How easy that is to see, illustrated by my own Christmas experiences as a child. The givers, my parents or brothers and sisters, were only my channels to getting what I wanted. Sure, I would thank them, if reminded that I needed to do so, but I was not truly thankful to them, or for them. I loved the toys, but not the people who gave them to me. And now, how easy it is to love the pleasures of life without loving the One who gives the pleasures as well as the capacity for enjoying them. How easy it is to say that it is this or that situation that will give me true joy, when even the joy of the most desirable situation would not be there if God did not add it into the mix. Food would taste like cardboard if God did not give it the flavor and me the taste buds to enjoy it. And not only as a process, but every time. He is in everything, making it work the way it is supposed to every time, or it wouldn't. There are no natural processes, truly. God is a God of order, and He continues to bless things to work the way that they always have, but still, it is His hand in it each time it occurs that makes it happen the way it has always happened, and we have the illusion of processes and cause and effect. But nothing can keep going unless He keeps it going. And He is keeping everything going, every moment of every day - there is not one thing that works by itself, or even by processes that He has set up and left to run on their own. There can be no such thing, for if God leaves anything to itself, it would cease to exist immediately. It did not exist before He made it, and it shall not continue without being upheld constantly by the word of His power.

So, anything that I look to for a pleasure that it has given in the past is not able to give me that pleasure unless God wills that it be so, each time I engage in the thing. If I enjoy a particular song, and am thrilled with the music and the lyrics, I cannot look to that song as the ultimate giver of the pleasure, but to God who has given me the pleasure through that song. There are pleasures in reading the Bible, but a Scripture that brought me joy and comfort at one time might not do so at another, because I am seeking the experience, rather than God Himself. So, I could even make an idol out of the Word of God. And I do.

And there are other voices that draw me away in doubt and fear, that make me question the reality of it all - whether any of it is true. I must cling to Christ, for He is the only One in whom I have found peace and true joy. All else has failed me, and continues to fail. So, I hear Him say to me again "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I Have Seen the Lord!

Here is a great sermon from John Piper of the same title as this blog entry.

By the way, it has been a coon's age since I have been here. Anybody still out there?

If you merely read Piper's sermons you don't get nearly the same effect as you will if you watch the video. If Spurgeon were living now, I would certainly watch videos of his sermons rather than just reading them. There is something about hearing and seeing that makes a greater impact on the heart than merely reading. Try it. You will never want to simply read Piper's sermons again.

If you don't know Piper at all, you will be greatly encourage by his preaching. I highly recommend him.

Deserted

They say that God doesn't leave His people, that He is always with them. They say that if there are any problems, it is simply with your perception, because God has not moved. So, it is always this: if I push the right buttons I can overcome, and go on my way rejoicing.


 No. It has never been that way. God is sovereign, and He is not at my beck and call, I am to be at His. I might do everything right, as far as anyone can tell, and still feel the emptiness of walking without Him, the dryness of the desert of no communion. Everything loses its flavor: every joy is forced, every laugh is hollow, every song (if I can sing at all) is in a minor key, for He is not there. And if you tell me that it is just my perception, I say "What's the difference?" It is hell to be without God, really, or even when it just feels like you are without God. It is all the same thing according to my perception. What is it to me that God is still there, if I cannot hear His voice? How can I derive any comfort from a present Saviour, if He does not make His presence known, if I cannot know His grace and peace filling my soul? What good is it to me that my Father is home, if I cannot go climb up into His lap, and feel His strong arm holding me tight, pulling me close? You may live far off from Him if you can, but I cannot. I don't like it when I cannot find Him anywhere. Just your telling me that He is always there, when I cannot get to Him, provides me no comfort. Oh, that I knew where I might find Him!



I see shadows, glimpses of Him out of the corner of the eye, but that is not enough. I need Him. I am thirsty, and none of these broken cisterns have any water. I am hungry, and tired of trading my money for that which is not bread. My soul thirsts for God. When shall I come and appear before God!

How long, O Lord? How long wilt Thou forget me? Forever?

A Powerful Sermon

This is a great sermon. You should listen to it.

The Immeasurable Greatness of His Power Toward Us

What Sin Is

In reading the book of Joshua again, I have been struck once again with the seeming severity of judgment upon Achan and his family for his transgression. The punishment has seemed to me to be over and above what was merited, because of the shocking nature of it. However, this time, I have asked the Lord to help me to understand. I believe that He has.

When Satan tempted Eve, he promised her that she and Adam would "be as gods, knowing good and evil." I have not thought as much about that as I have recently, and as I should have, for that is the place where we see the beginning of sin in man. Why do all die in Adam? What was the enormity of a transgression that consisted in eating a piece of fruit? Just a piece of fruit. Well, if it was just the piece of fruit that makes up the totality of the transgression, it might be justifiable to say that the punishment overreaches the crime. A piece of fruit, however, was merely the battleground. Many injunctions of Scripture call for obedience in matters seemingly as trivial as a piece of fruit.

The fruit itself is almost immaterial in the whole matter of Adam's sin. The nature of sin is not in the size of the matter, nor in the obvious deed itself, but in the heart of the man who perpetrates the sin. This is not to say that one thing that is called sin in one case, might not be called so in another. There are arguments for such a statement, and evidence that can be produced to substantiate such claims, but I am not entering into that aspect of the matter at this time. What I am saying is that sin, with respect to its severity, is not in the act itself, but in the heart. So, what was in Achan's heart? What was in Adam's heart? What is in my heart, when I sin?

So, Satan said: "ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." What does that mean, knowing good and evil? And how does that make us like gods? The answer is, perhaps obvious to everyone reading this, but it was good for me to see it so clearly. If I can choose what I want to do, deciding for myself what is right and wrong (good and evil), then, in effect, I am taking the place of God. What power! Simply by throwing out God and His ways, His authorities (the Bible, parental authority, governmental authority, etc.), I can have absolute power over my own affairs! I can be all I can be, I can run my own life! I can do it my way! After all, I am God!

Such a manner of thinking was at the heart of Satan's temptation. "You don't have to do what God says, even though He is your Creator. You are an independent, autonomous being. You decide. Follow your heart. If it feels good, do it!"

The only problem with such an outlook on life is this: It was not Adam's call to decide to eat the fruit. God had already made that call, and Adam's deliberate disobedience was an "in-your-face" rejection of God Himself. Achan did the same thing. Satan's "I will be like the Most High" became the fight song of mankind. We have taken it up, even from the womb. That cry of independence. I am God. I have a right. I can choose for myself. "Sure, Satan. I'll be as God. What do I have to lose? After all, fruit is good for me!"

So, the few things Achan took were not the problem. Nor was it a piece of fruit for Adam and Eve. Nor is it just whatever the little thing is in which we love to have our way. It is the rebellion in our hearts. It is our desire to dethrone God, and set ourselves in His place. As our Creator, He has the right to do whatever He wills with His own. As His creatures, we don't have that right.

Our carrying out of this same scenario of sin is a daily event. The only reason God doesn't kill us for it is because of the cross of Christ. The garments of rebellion do not look any prettier upon us than they did upon Adam, or Achan . . . or Satan. As Christians, we are even more culpable, because we know a little about the price that was paid on that cross, by a God who so loved the world . . . And how can we even claim to know Him, when we abide one moment with rebellion to any of His commands in our hearts ? Even the smallest infractions involve the same sin: "I will decide what is right and wrong. I know what is good and evil. I am God." The commands of Christ do not stretch. His rules do not bend. We know that we are His because we keep His commandments, and those commandments are not grievous to us. We would rather have God's way than our own in the matter, if we truly love Christ.

I am not so concerned about Achan anymore. He deserved more than what he got. But so do I. I run to the cross of Christ for refuge. I am ashamed. How dare I assert my rights to do anything, or be anything for the sake of my own understanding. I don't want to be God. I don't want to go my own way. But I can still hear that hiss of the serpent: "Ye shall be as gods." Lord Jesus, come quickly, and make all things new.

My Life Work

"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death." - Philippians 3:10

While it is so hard to raise my mind to much contemplation of Christ, to profitable thoughts about Him, to an admiration of Him as He is portrayed in the Scriptures, and to that view of glory that transforms me into His image, yet by God's grace, and only that way, I shall fight every day to get that view of Him - a view my soul needs so desperately that there is nothing else it needs beside. I cannot even really know what that means "That I may know Him," because such a knowledge, while not too high (at least the beginnings of it, for the encouragement of everyone who has a desire for it), yet it ends in Heaven, it finds its fulness there, and the Scripture itself says that we know not what we shall be, but when we see Him, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. I only can know in part here, but when I see Him, I shall lay aside childish things for as full a revelation of Christ's beauty as God shall be pleased to give me for my everlasting blessedness and satisfaction. My goal then, or my life's work, is to know as much of Him as possible in this life, because if it is my happiness in eternity to behold Him in His glory, it must be no small portion of the happiness of this life to behold His glory as I am able. This glory of Christ is His beauty, His awesomeness, His majesty and everything about Him that attracts. And the true view of it is only found in the Scriptures, for they testify of Him, and set Him forth - they present Him as our beautiful Saviour. So, I shall be a student of the Word of God, for that purpose only, that I may know Him, that I may, through the Word, see the Sun of Righteousness, and look on His face who is altogether lovely. It is, as I said, so difficult to raise my thoughts to this great object, but I must do it, and if you read this, pray for me this prayer, and others like it:

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.

Test Your Faith

Here is John Owen again. This section is taken from Christologia, chapter XIX, on http://www.ccel.org/.

The glory of heaven consists in the full manifestation of divine wisdom, goodness, grace, holiness, — of all the properties of the nature of God in Christ. In the clear perception and constant contemplation hereof consists no small part of eternal blessedness. What, then, are our present thoughts of these things? What joy, what satisfaction have we in the sight of them, which we have by faith through divine revelation? What is our desire to come unto the perfect comprehension of them? How do we like this heaven? What do we find in ourselves that will be eternally satisfied hereby? According as our desires are after them, such and no other are our desires of the true heaven, — of the residence of blessedness and glory. Neither will God bring us unto heaven whether we will or no. If, through the ignorance and darkness of our minds, — if, through the earthliness and sensuality of our affections, — if, through a fulness of the world, and the occasions of it, — if, by the love of life and our present enjoyments, we are strangers unto these things, we are not conversant about them, we long not after them, — we are not in the way towards their enjoyment. The present satisfaction we receive in them by faith, is the best evidence we have of an indefeasible interest in them. How foolish is it to lose the first fruits of these things in our own souls, — those entrances into blessedness which the contemplation of them through faith would open unto us, — and hazard our everlasting enjoyment of them by an eager pursuit of an interest in perishing things here below! This, this is that which ruins the souls of most, and keeps the faith of many at so low an ebb, that it is hard to discover any genuine working of it.

John Owen on Conformity to Christ

From his book Christologia, found at Christian Classics Ethereal Library (linked on my sidebar), is a short paragraph from Owen about true conformity to Christ:

One Christian who is meek, humble, kind, patient, and useful unto all; that condescends to the ignorance, weaknesses and infirmities of others; that passeth by provocations, injuries, contempt, with patience and with silence, unless where the glory and truth of God call for a just vindication; that pitieth all sorts of men in their failings and miscarriages, who is free from jealousies and evil surmises; that loveth what is good in all men, and all men even wherein they are not good, nor do good, — doth more express the virtues and excellencies of Christ than thousands can do with the most magnificent works of piety or charity, where this frame is wanting in them. For men to pretend to follow the example of Christ, and in the meantime to be proud, wrathful envious, bitterly zealous, calling for fire from heaven to destroy men, or fetching it themselves from hell, is to cry, “Hail unto him,” and to crucify him afresh unto their power.

I Dare Not Think Where I Would Be

Didst Thou, my Lord, Thine all resign,
And courts of glory thus forsake,
Laying aside Thy rights divine,
Of human clay so to partake?
I dare not think where I would be
Hadst Thou retained Thy liberty!

And loving Thine unto the end
Thou gavest Thyself in blood to die -
And, oh, for sinners, what a Friend!
For even such a wretch as I.
I dare not think where I would be
Hadst Thou retained Thy liberty!

Oh, Holy One - becoming sin -
No words can tell the sacrifice!
What agonies enduredst Thou then,
When Thou didst pay redemption's price?
I dare not think where I would be
Hadst Thou retained Thy liberty!

Oh, could my tears forever flow
And could my zeal no languor know
These all for sin could not atone
For Thou must save, and Thou alone.
In dying on dark Calvary,
Thou gavest up all Thy liberty.

Though rich, yet poor becamest Thou,
Thou prayedst "Not My will but Thine,"
Thou drainedst the bitter cup for me,
Bearing the awful wrath Divine.
I dare not think where I would be
Hadst Thou retained Thy liberty!

And can it be that I should gain
(I dare not think where I would be . . .)
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
( . . . Hadst Thou retained Thy liberty!)
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me!

MC (et al)

That He Might Fill All Things

Since it is God's plan that Christ "fill all things," "have the preeminence," and that "every knee should bow" to Him, it is not straining the Scripture to see that all of my life should be filled up by Him: that the knees of my desires and will should also bow to Him, and that in every part of my life He should have the preeminence. If every thought is to be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, then certainly everything else in my life (my words and deeds) must follow, because all is based on that which originates in the heart - that is, the thoughts.

What a joy it would be if He did indeed "fill all things" in my life. There is no lack in Him as to fulness for He is altogether lovely. Though my flesh is weak and I am unequal to the task because of sin still warring in my members, still I would always behold His face, which shows forth the glory of God. Then would my life be filled to overflowing; then would the glory of all that He is in me and to me pour forth from my life in ceaseless praise to Him in everything I think, do, and say - and what could be a greater joy on the earth than this: to reflect His beauty and glory in my life?

The Parable of our Righteous God

At the beginning of Luke 18, Jesus gives a parable about a widow and an unjust judge. His purpose in telling the parable is given in verse 1: "That men ought always to pray and not to faint."

The widow has a claim against someone who is called her "adversary." Someone has wronged her in some way, and she has a legal claim, apparently. The judge to whom the widow comes is "unjust", and "feared not God, neither regarded man." This case appears hopeless for the widow, that she will ever receive satisfaction. The judge "feared not God" Who had commanded special care for widows, "neither regarded man," - he did not care even about seeing justice done.

The widow kept coming back, however, and the judge perceived that she was going to weary him with her continual coming. For her persistence, he takes her case. It is not because he suddenly realizes that she has a good case, or that he has suddenly become a God-fearing man that he decides to avenge the widow - he still acts as he pleases. What pleases him is that this widow leave him alone, so he will act on her behalf in order to effect that end. He wants to get this pesky lady off his back so he can have some peace.

Remember the purpose of the parable: "That men ought always to pray and not to faint." Is Jesus drawing a parallel between this unjust judge and God? Is He saying that God answers our prayers when He finally gets weary of us? First, God is not unjust. He cannot be compared to the judge on those grounds. As the character of the judge is opposite that of our God, so are all of the motives and incentives to keep on coming before God with our requests.

Jesus is telling us that even the most unjust among men can be prevailed upon through persistence. If this is true in the case of the unjust judge, how much more true is it that God will hear the prayers of His elect "though He bear long with them"? God is not unjust. Though we might besiege the throne of grace for a considerable time - perhaps for years, even - yet He will make the crooked straight and the rough places plain. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low. God will not leave injustices as they are. He will make all things right, in His time. The parallel is not between the judge and God, but between the case of the widow and that of God's elect, while a contrast is made between the judge and God. The widow has a complaint that she brings regularly to the judge; we have complaints we bring regularly to Jehovah God. She has to press her case because the judge is unjust; we press our case because our Judge is not unjust, and we know He will help us. She finally receives help because the judge didn't want to put up with her any more; we receive help because the Lord, in His time, will answer our prayers out of His great love wherewith He loves us.

"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?"

I've Always Believed in Eternity!

When I was about 12 years old, my sister told me about a girl she knew that believed that when you die, you cease to exist. Not knowing Christ then, I had no Biblical objection to that concept. I remember, however, that later on (perhaps that same day), I was riding my bicycle toward the center of our town. What my sister had told me came rushing back into my mind. As I was riding, my whole being screamed inside me that such a thing could not be true. I understood in myself that I could never cease to exist. Now that I know the Bible somewhat, I know what it teaches concerning the Judgment, and eternal existence for the blessed and the damned.

I wonder if that knowledge inside of me was a part of "the Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world."

Usurping

The Devil would exalt himself
To be as the Most High,
By imitating Providence;
And often, so do I.

The Prince of Darkness tries to shape
Events to suit his mind;
And I, as well, would have control:
In me his ways I find.

Yes, I would cast God from His throne
When things don't go my way-
And for God's will, exalt my own,
Exerting sinful sway.

I'll sin to try to make events
Go as I think they should;
As if I could, by being bad,
Work all things for my good!

"I trust in God," I often sing -
In piety divine,
But when I cannot see the way
It's "not Thy will, but mine!"

Oh, God, my sinful heart would cast
Thy rule from my soul -
Lord, cast instead my sin aside,
And take complete control!

MC

God's Love Shown in His Promises

"Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver."

"Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little."

"Fear Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell."

"He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."

"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."

How do these promises show the love of God? By the simple fact that they are in Scripture at all. God didn't have to give any warnings to us. He could have thrown us all into Hell forever, without a word to us, and He would have been just in doing so. These promises are His warnings of love to us, that we might enter in at the strait gate. God must reward sinners for their sins because He is just. He cannot simply "forget it". Every sinful thought, word, and deed must be rewarded with its wages - "the wages of sin is death" - or God Himself would be unrighteous.

The promises we usually think of are much nicer to read, but we cannot come to those until we see the ones above. There is no appreciation of "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved," unless we first see God's wrath against us, and His just assessment of our character. Since God is holy, absolutely holy, and we are absolutely sinful, He WILL tear us to pieces and there WILL be none to deliver, without the deliverance that He Himself prescribes:

"Behold the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sins of the world."

"Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The Deceitfulness of Sin

John Owen again, on the Mortification of Sin in Believers. This is in the Christian Classics Ethereal Library which you can enter on my sidebar, or just begin here for Owen's book on mortification.

In speaking about having a particular lust in the heart (note: lust is the Biblical word that refers to any ungodly desire of the flesh), Owen says:

Consider the danger of it, which is manifold:—
(1.) Of being hardened by the deceitfulness. This the apostle sorely charges on the Hebrews, chap. iii. 12, 13, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To-day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” “Take heed,” saith he, “use all means, consider your temptations, watch diligently; there is a treachery, a deceit in sin, that tends to the hardening of your hearts from the fear of God.” The hardening here mentioned is to the utmost, — utter obduration; sin tends to it, and every distemper and lust will make at least some progress towards it. Thou that wast tender, and didst use to melt under the word, under afflictions, wilt grow as some have profanely spoken, “sermon-proof and sickness-proof.” Thou that didst tremble at the presence of God, thoughts of death, and appearance before him, when thou hadst more assurance of his love than now thou hast, shalt have a stoutness upon thy spirit not to be moved by these things. Thy soul and thy sin shall be spoken of and spoken to, and thou shalt not be at all concerned, but shalt be able to pass over duties, praying, hearing, reading, and thy heart not in the least affected. Sin will grow a light thing to thee; thou wilt pass it by as a thing of nought; this it will grow to. And what will be the end of such a condition? Can a sadder thing befall thee? Is it not enough to make any heart to tremble, to think of being brought into that estate wherein he should have slight thoughts of sin? Slight thoughts of grace, of mercy, of the blood of Christ, of the law, heaven, and hell, come all in at the same season. Take heed, this is that thy lust is working towards, — the hardening of the heart, searing of the conscience, blinding of the mind, stupifying of the affections, and deceiving of the whole soul.

Evil Speaking

Isn't it interesting that when people gossip, they assign motives for the deeds of those whom they are slandering. Now, how can they know what people were thinking when they did the things they did? Can these talebearers read minds? Of course not. So, how do they know what the motive was? They don't. Where then do they get the motives that they assign to these who are the subjects of their evil speaking? Why, they are the inventions of their own minds, out of the awful corruption of their own hearts! These backbiters assign motives to others that they themselves would have, or have had, in similar situations. So, when we backbite, gossip, speak evil, bear tales and slander, we are really revealing our own wicked hearts, laying them bare for all to see.



It is to our shame that when we see the vileness of another's heart as he defames a brother to us, we respond in kind and take the slanderer's sin as an excuse and justification to slander too. How contrary to our Saviour's commands we delight to be in this. "Charity . . . thinketh no evil."



"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."