Evil Speaking of Powers That Be

Posted on April 8, 2022 by The Editor

Acts 23:5 (Exodus 22:28); Ephesians 4:31; 1 Timothy 2:1-3; Romans 13:1,2

It is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

ANDREW FULLER (1754-1815): “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors,” 1 Peter 2:13,14. There is scarcely any thing in the New Testament inculcated with more solemnity than that individuals, and especially Christians, should be obedient, peaceable, and loyal subjects; nor is there any sin much more awfully censured than the contrary conduct.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): The spirit of disaffection and sedition is ever opposed to the religion of the Bible.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): “By me kings reigns and princes decree Justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth,” Proverbs 8:15, 16―It is not owing to human perverseness that supreme power on earth is lodged in kings and other governors, but by Divine Providence, and the holy decree of Him to whom it has seemed good so to govern the affairs of men.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): No human government is perfect, and it may appear to us that a particular form of government is acting unwisely in its legislation and arbitrarily in its administration. The question therefore arises, How should a Christian citizen act under a particularly offensive one?

MARTIN LUTHER (1483-1546): Christians should not, under the pretence of Christian religion, refuse to obey men in authority even if they are wicked. Even though rulers are wicked and unbelieving, yet is their governmental power good―in itself―and of God. So our Lord said to Pilate, to whom He submitted as a pattern for us all: “Thou couldst have no power against me, except it were given thee from above, ” John 19:11.

ANDREW FULLER: On this principle it is probable the apostle enjoined obedience to the powers that were, even during the reign of Nero.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): This is not to be understood, as if magistrates were above the laws, and had a lawless power to do as they will without opposition—and when they make their own will a law, or exercise a lawless tyrannical power, in defiance of the laws of God, and of the land, to the endangering of the lives, liberties, and properties of subjects, they may be resisted, as Saul was by the people of Israel, when he would have took away the life of Jonathan for the breach of an arbitrary law of his own, I Samuel 14:45; but the apostle is speaking of resisting magistrates in the right discharge of their office, and in the exercise of legal power and authority.

JOHN CALVIN: We are subject to the men that rule over us, but subject only in the Lord. If they command any thing against Him, let us not pay the least regard to it.

A. W. PINK: That a child of God must refuse to do the bidding of a government when it enjoins something contrary to the Divine will is clear from the cases of the three Hebrews, Daniel 3:18, and of Daniel in Babylon, Daniel 5:10-13, who firmly declined to conform unto the king’s idolatrous demands. It is equally evident from the apostles, who, when they were commanded by the authorities “not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus,” answered “whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye,” Acts 4:19; Acts 5:29.

ANDREW FULLER: We are not called to yield up our consciences in religious matters, nor to approve of what is wrong in those which are civil; but we are not at liberty to deal in acrimony and evil-speaking.

ADAM CLARKE: When those who have been pious get under the spirit of misrule, they infallibly get shorn of their spiritual strength, and become like salt that has lost its savour…The highest authority says, “Fear God: honour the king,” 1 Peter 2:17.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): Paul applies this law to himself, and owns that he ought not to “speak evil of the ruler of his people;” no, not though the ruler was then his most unrighteous persecutor, Acts 23:5.

GEORGE WHITEFIELD (1714-1770): O my brethren, how often have you and I been guilty of this great evil?

D. L. MOODY (1837-1899): I have heard many confessions, in public and private, during the past forty years, but never have I heard a man confess that he was guilty of this sin.

JOHN BUNYAN (1628-1688): What sayest thou, art thou guilty of this indictment, or not?

THOMAS GOODWIN (1600-1679): Surely may we, by conviction, apprehend ourselves guilty.

EDWARD PAYSON (1783-1827): Let us, then, never more be guilty of this conduct.

ANDREW FULLER: It requires not only that we keep within the compass of the laws―but that we honour and intercede with God for those who administer them.

MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): The kings of the earth at that time were all heathens, and enemies to the Christian religion, and so, generally, were those who were in a subordinate authority to them, yet the apostle commands that prayers should be made in the Christian congregations for them. They were to pray for their life and health so far forth as might be for God’s glory, and for God’s guidance of them in the administration of their government.

MATTHEW HENRY: Thus the primitive Christians, according to the temper of their holy religion, prayed for the powers that were, though they were persecuting powers.

ADAM CLARKE: Good rulers have power to do much good; we pray that their authority may be ever preserved and well directed. Bad rulers have power to do much evil; we pray that they may be prevented from thus using their power. So that, whether the rulers be good or bad, prayer for them is the positive duty of all Christians; and the answer to their prayers, in either case, will be the means of their being enabled to lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

JOHN CALVIN: That is the reason why believers, in whatever country they live, must not only obey the laws and government of magistrates, but likewise in their prayers supplicate God for their salvation.

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): This is a responsibility that rests upon us as believers today. Christians are to be examples to others of subjection to the government…When we come together in a public service, we usually pray for those who are in authority. But are we as much concerned about remembering them before God when we kneel alone in His presence? I am quite sure of this: if we prayed more for those at the head of the country and in other positions of responsibility, we would feel less ready to criticize them.

EDWARD PAYSON: Thou shall not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. Pray for all that are in authority.

 

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The Proverbial Folly of Fools

Posted on April 1, 2022 by The Editor

Ecclesiastes 7:25; Ecclesiastes 2:13

I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness.

Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): The very first part of wisdom is to receive the Gospel of salvation into our hearts. We all need it; nor can any human being be saved without it; and God offers to us all the blessings of it, freely, without money and without price. Were we under a sentence of death from a human tribunal, and were offered mercy by the Prince, it would be accounted wisdom to accept the offer, and folly to reject it. How much more is it our wisdom to accept a deliverance from eternal death, together with all the glory and felicity of heaven! This must commend itself to every man who reflects but for a moment: and to despise these proffered benefits must, of necessity, be regarded as folly, bordering upon madness.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): Wisdom enlightens the soul with surprising discoveries and necessary directions for the right government of itself; but sensuality—for that seems to be especially the folly here meant—clouds and eclipses the mind, and is as darkness to it; it puts out men’s eyes, makes them wander out of it.

CHARLES SIMEON: The world gives its voice in direct opposition to the foregoing statement. It represents religion as folly, and the prosecution of carnal enjoyments as wisdom. But its “calling good evil, and evil good,” will not change their respective natures: nor, if the whole world should unite in putting darkness for light, or light for darkness, will either of them lose its own qualities, and assume those of the other. “Sweet” will be sweet, and “bitter” bitter, whether men will believe it or not. “The foolishness of fools is folly,” Proverbs 14:26.

CHARLES BRIDGES (1794-1869): What think we of folly?    

MATTHEW HENRY: It is the character of a wicked man that he takes pleasure in sin; “Folly is joy to him,” Proverbs 15:21. The folly of others is so, and his own much more. He sins, not only without regret, but with delight, not only repents not of it, but makes his boast of it. This is a certain sign of one that is graceless.

WILLIAM ARNOT (1808-1875): The best way to know a man is to observe what gives him pleasure. A good man may once, or many times, be betrayed into foolish words or deeds, but the indulgence of them makes him miserable. Folly, like Ezekiel’s roll, was sweet in his mouth, but left a lasting bitterness behind. Fools, on the contrary, “feed on foolishness,” Proverbs 15:14; it is pleasant to their taste at the time, and they ruminate with relish on it afterwards.

CHARLES BRIDGES: He sins without temptation or motive. He cannot sleep without it, Proverbs 4:16. It is “the sweet morsel under his tongue,” Job 20:12. He “obeys it in the lusts thereof,” Romans 6:12. He “works it with greediness,” Ephesians 4:19. He hates the gospel, because it “saves from it,” Matthew 1:21; Acts 3:26.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Proverbs 13:16, “Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly,”—or “spreads” it, and exposes it to the view of everyone, by his foolish talk and indiscreet actions.

CHARLES BRIDGES: The tongue shews the man. The wise commands his tongue. The fool—his tongue commands him. He may have a mass of knowledge in possession. But from the want of the right use, it runs to waste. Wisdom is proved, not by the quantum of knowledge, but by its right application. “The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness,” Proverbs 15:2.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): “He that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly,” Proverbs 14:29—exalteth folly. He sets it up upon a pole, as it were; he proclaims his own folly by his ireful looks, words, gestures, actions.

WILLIAM ARNOT: “Fools make a mock at sin,” Proverbs 14:9. It is emphatically the part of a fool to mock at sin. God counted it serious, when, to deliver us from its power, He covenanted to give his Son to die. Christ counted it serious, when He suffered for it. All holy beings stand in awe before it. Angels unfallen look on in wonder, and converted men who have been delivered from it, fear it with an exceeding great fear. Only the victims who are under its benumbing power, and exposed to its eternal curse, can make light of sin.

JOHN TRAPP: “It is as sport to a fool to do mischief,” Proverbs 10:23. He is then merriest when he hath the devil for his playfellow.

WILLIAM ARNOT: Those who make a mock at sin are obliged also to mock at holiness. This is the law of their condition. “Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse,” 2 Timothy 3:13. To laugh at sin and to laugh at holiness are but two sides of one thing. They cannot be separated. Those who make mirth of goodness persuade themselves that they are only getting amusement from the weakness of a brother. Let them take care. If that in a Christian which you make sport of, be a feature of his Redeemer’s likeness, He whose likeness it is, is looking on, and will require it…Let them take care—God is not mocked.

JOHN GILL: “A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident,” Proverbs 14:16. He fears neither God nor men, he sets his mouth against both; he “rages” in heart, if not with his mouth, against God and His law, which forbid the practice of such sins he delights in; and against all good men, that admonish him of them, rebuke him for them, or dissuade him from them: and “is confident” that no evil shall befall him; he has no concern about a future state, and is fearless of hell and damnation, though just upon the precipice of ruin.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): “The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit,” Proverbs 14:8. They deceive themselves more than they deceive anybody else.

CHARLES BRIDGES: “Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him,” Proverbs 27:22. Much is said of the effectiveness of correction. But of itself it works nothing. What can it do for the fool, that despises it? “The rod” ordinarily “will drive foolishness out of the heart of a child,” Proverbs 22:15. But the child is here become a man in strength of habit, and stubbornness of will. As soon, therefore, “can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots,” as those can do good, “who are accustomed to do evil,” Jeremiah 13:23. “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly,” Proverbs 26:11.

WILLIAM ARNOT: To mock at sin now, is the way to the place of eternal weeping. They who weep for sin now, will rejoice in a Saviour yet. Blessed are they that so mourn, for they shall be comforted.—“Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly,” Proverbs 16:22. To him that hath it, this wisdom from above will be a well-spring of life; to those who refuse it, life will never spring at all.

 

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Reflections on a Blind Man’s Cure

Posted on March 25, 2022 by The Editor

Mark 8:22-26

And [Jesus] cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): This miracle, which is only recorded by the Evangelist Mark, has about it several very peculiar features.

J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): We see Jesus taking this blind man by the hand, leading him out of the town—spitting on his eyes—putting His hands on him, and then—and not till then, restoring his sight. And the meaning of all these actions, the passage leaves entirely unexplained.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): First, our Lord led the man out of the town, before He would heal him; and, when the cure was performed, He forbad him to return thither, or so much as to tell it unto any who lived in the town.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): It would be difficult to find out the reason which induced our Lord to act thus.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): Had He herein only designed privacy, He might have led him into a house, into an inner chamber, and have cured him there; but He intended hereby to upbraid Bethsaida with the mighty works that had in vain been done in her, Matthew 11:21.

THOMAS CHALMERS (1780-1847): The conversion and regeneration of a sinner is a noble, yet a secret work.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): It is in the heart that the Spirit works.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): As to the secret work, who knows how the Spirit works? “The wind blows where it lists and you hear the sound thereof but you can not tell from where it comes nor where it goes: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit,” John 3:8.

A. W. PINK: There is something about the wind which defies all effort of human explanation. Its origin, its nature, its activities, are beyond man’s ken. Man cannot tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. It is so with the activities of the Holy Spirit. His operations are conducted secretly; His workings are profoundly mysterious.

MATTHEW HENRY: Christ used a sign; He spit on his eyes and put His hands upon him.

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): Why did He do that?

MATTHEW HENRY: This spittle signified the eye-salve wherewith Christ anoints the eyes of those that are spiritually blind, Revelation 3:18.

ADAM CLARKE: There is a similar transaction to this mentioned by John—“He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing,” John 9:6,7.

C. H. SPURGEON: It seems to me that the use of spittle connected the opening of the eye with the Saviour’s mouth, that is to say, it connected in type the illuminating of the understanding with the Truth of God which Christ utters.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): And, generally speaking, in the illumination of a sinner, the word of Christ’s mouth is a means—the Gospel, and the truths of it, which are the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ, are the means of conveying the Spirit of God, as a spirit of illumination and sanctification, into the hearts of men, and of quickening sinners dead in trespasses and sins.

C. H. SPURGEON: You will further perceive that when He had spit on his eyes it is added He put His hands upon him. Did He do that in the form of heavenly benediction? Did He, by the laying on of His hands, bestow upon the man His blessing, and bid virtue stream from His own Person into the blind man? I think so.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): He did so most probably for the purpose of proving that He had full liberty as to His method of proceeding, and was not restricted to a fixed rule.

C. H. SPURGEON: We must not attempt to tell the Lord Jesus Christ how He is to work, for He has various ways of working in the blessing of men. For instance, when this blind man was brought to Him, He did not open his eyes with a word. Often, when the sick were brought to Him, He spoke and they were at once cured. He might have done so in this case…But there came out of Christ’s mouth—not a word—but spittle!

THOMAS COKE: In giving sight to this blind man, Jesus did not, as on other occasions of the like nature, impart the faculty at once, but by degrees.

JOHN CALVIN: He does not all at once enlighten the eyes of the blind man, and fit them for performing their office, but communicates to them at first a dark and confused perception, and afterwards, by laying on his hands a second time, enables them to see perfectly. And so the grace of Christ, which had formerly been poured out suddenly on others, flowed by drops, as it were, on this man.

C. H. SPURGEON: So is it with the first sight that is given to many spiritually blind persons.

J. C. RYLE: Conversion is an illumination, a change from darkness to light, from blindness to seeing the kingdom of God. Yet few converted people see things distinctly at first. The nature and proportion of doctrines, practices, and ordinances of the Gospel are dimly seen by them, and imperfectly understood. They are like the man before us, who at first saw men as trees walking. Their vision is dazzled and unaccustomed to the new world into which they have been introduced. It is not till the work of the Spirit has become deeper and their experience been somewhat matured, that they see all things clearly, and give to each part of religion its proper place. This is the history of thousands of God’s children.

JOHN NEWTON (1725-1807): Where the eyes are divinely enlightened, the soul’s first views of itself and of the Gospel may be confused and indistinct, like him who saw men as it were trees walking; yet this light is like the dawn, which, though weak and faint at its first appearance, “shineth more and more unto the perfect day,” Proverbs 4:18. It is the work of God; and His work is perfect in kind, though progressive in the manner. He will not despise or forsake the day of small things. When He thus begins, He will make an end.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): But we must not, from hence, conclude that our being in Christ is obtained in a progressive manner, though our enjoyment of that being in Him is increased by an increasing knowledge.

J C. RYLE: Finally, let us see in the gradual cure of this blind man, a striking picture of the present position of Christ’s believing people in the world, compared with that which is to come. We see in part and know in part in the present dispensation…In the providential dealings of God with His children, and in the conduct of many of God’s saints, we see much that we cannot understand—and cannot alter. In short, we are like him that saw “men as trees walking.” But let us look forward and take comfort. The time comes when we shall see all “clearly.” When the day of the Lord comes, our spiritual eyesight will be perfected.

 

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Buds, Blossoms & Bringing Forth Fruit

Posted on March 18, 2022 by The Editor

Isaiah 27:6

He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): We are just coming to the most beautiful season of the year—Spring, when everything around us is shaking off the chill grave clothes of winter and putting on the beautiful array of a new life. There is something very delightful in the spring-time of nature…There is a great beauty in a fruit tree when it is in bloom. Perhaps there is no more lovely object in all nature than the apple blossom.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Under the genial warmth of the sun, those trees will be covered with blossoms. Then, after a few days, those pretty blossoms will all have disappeared—blown off by the winds. Nevertheless, if those trees be examined closely it will be found that where those blossoms were are now little green buds. Many weeks have to pass before the owner of those trees is gladdened by seeing the buds develop into fruit.

STEPHEN CHARNOCK (1628-1680): They pass through many alterations, from one degree of growth to another, from buds to blossoms, from blossoms to flowers and fruits.

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): It is truly pleasing to witness the springing bud, and the unfolding blossoms.

WILLIAM JAY (1769-1853): The young Christian is lovely, like a tree in the blossoms of spring.

C. H. SPURGEON: The love of his espousals, his first love, his first zeal, all make the newborn Believer comely. Can anything be more delightful than our first graces? Even God Himself delights in the beauty of the blossoming Believer. “I remember thee,” says He, “the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness,” Jeremiah 2:2.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): The Lord takes great notice of the springing and buddings forth of grace, of the first acts and exercises of it in young converts.

C. H. SPURGEON: But this beauty soon fades—one shower of rain, one descent of hail, one puff of the north wind—and very soon the blossoms fall like snow.

A. W. PINK: What percentage of blossoms on the apple and plum trees mature and bear fruit? Many a promising bud is nipped by the frosts of spring and never develops into a flower.

C. H. SPURGEON: March winds and April showers, bring forth May flowers.

THOMAS ADAMS (1583-1656): Sin, repentance, and pardon, are like to the three spring months of the year—March, April, and May. Sin comes in like March, blustering, stormy, and full of bold violence. Repentance succeeds like April, showering, weeping, and full of tears. Pardon follows like May, springing, singing, full of joys and flowers. If our hands have been full of March, with the tempests of unrighteousness, our eyes must be full of April with the sorrow of repentance; and then our hearts shall be full of May, in the true joy of forgiveness.

C. H. SPURGEON: The Lord has looked upon you and has made you feel uneasy—that is a bud. Oh, that the uneasiness might open into full repentance! The Lord has looked upon you and He has given you desires. Oh, that the Grace of God may increase those desires till they shall open into resolution and determination!

A. W. PINK: There is a large number who so far from despising and rejecting it, “receive the Word with joy, yet hath not root in himself, but dureth from a while,” Matthew 13:20,21. That was the case when Christ Himself sowed the Seed…“Ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light,” said Christ of certain ones who sat under the preaching of His forerunner; but observe that He declared not that they had “sorrowed unto repentance.”

MATTHEW MEAD (1629-1699): Never rest in convictions till they end in conversion. This is that wherein most men miscarry: they rest in their convictions, and take them for conversion, as if sin seen were therefore forgiven, as if a sight of the want of grace were the truth of a work of grace.

A. W. PINK: Like the promising blossoms and buds on the trees in the spring, which are blown off by unfriendly winds or nipped by the frost, the beneficial effects produced by an illumined understanding and an aroused conscience, sooner or later, wear off. The temptations of the world and the corruptions of their hearts either stifle their convictions, or cause them to deliberately cast them out, and the sequel is that they either avowedly or practically repudiate the Faith they have owned. They may not go so far as to openly disclaim and renounce Christianity—but they cease to maintain practical godliness…The genuineness of saving faith is only proved as it bears the blossoms of experimental godliness and the fruits of true piety.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): It is in this way that we are to approve ourselves “trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, in whom he shall be glorified,” Isaiah 61:3.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): Many with their mouth show much love, but their heart goes another way. They had a good mind to be religious, but they met with something to be done, that was too hard, or something to be parted with, that was too dear, and so their purposes are to no purpose. Buds and blossoms are not fruit.

C. H. SPURGEON: How far have your buds developed? Have you begun to pray a little? Oh, that your prayer might be more intense! I hope that little bud of private prayer will grow till it comes to family prayer so that you can pray with your wife and children. You have been reading your Bible lately, have you? Oh, thank God for that! I hope that bud of Bible reading will open into the daily habit of feeding upon the Word of God…Some of you have another sort of bud—you have been thinking of what you can do for Christ. You thought you were converted, but you have never done much for Christ…Well, that is a bud—may the Grace of God be so abundant that you will leave off trying and get actually to doing!

MATTHEW HENRY: Good purposes, indeed, are good things; they are like buds and blossoms, pleasant to behold, and give hopes of good fruit; but they are lost, and signify nothing, without performances. So good beginnings are amiable; but we shall lose the benefit unless there be perseverance, and we bring forth fruit to perfection.

C. H. SPURGEON: Resolves are good, like blossoms, but actions are better, for they are the fruits…Are you sending forth blossoms and bearing fruit, or do you feel dry and barren?

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): Every moment we stand in need of Jesus Christ: while we stand—we are upheld by His power only; and when we are falling, or have fallen, we can be saved only by His mercy.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): All our sap and safety is from Christ—“Without me ye can do nothing,” saith Christ, the true vine, John 15:5, from Whom we have both the bud of good desires, the blossom of good resolutions, and the fruit of good actions.

C. H. SPURGEON: A fruitful tree is one which is well sustained at the root. It is by no means wisdom to cry, “I will work hard and try to bear fruit.” Fruit is not produced by work. No vine toils to produce grapes. It buds and blossoms and bears fruit in the order of its nature.

 

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David’s Courageous Determination

Posted on March 11, 2022 by The Editor

Psalm 27:1-3,12-14

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

RICHARD SIBBES (1577-1635): Though an host should encompass me, “my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this I will be confident.” Here is great courage for the time to come. Experience breeds hope and confidence. David was not so courageous a man of himself; but upon experience of God’s former comfort and assistance, his faith broke forth as a fire out of the smoke, or as the sun out of a cloud. Though I was in such-and-such perplexities, yet for the time to come, I have such confidence and experience of God’s goodness, that I will not fear.

JOHN SHEFFIELD (died 1680): I have been delivered from the lion, therefore shall be from the bear; from lion and bear, therefore from the Philistines, 1 Samuel 17:34-36; from the Philistine, therefore from Saul; from Saul, therefore God will deliver me from every evil work…

The Christian grows rich in experiences, which he wears as bracelets, and keeps as his richest jewels. He calls one Ebenezer―“hitherto God hath helped,” I Samuel 7:12; another Naphtali―“I have wrestled with God and prevailed,” Genesis 30:8; another Gershom―“I was a stranger,” Exodus 2:22; another Joseph― “God will yet add more,” Genesis 30:24; and another, Peniel―“I have seen the face of God,” Genesis 32:30.

RICHARD SIBBES: He that seeth God by a spirit of faith in His greatness and power, he sees all other things below as nothing. Therefore, David saith here, he cares not for the time to come for any opposition; no, not of an army. “If God be with us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31. He saw God in His power; and then, looking from God to the creature, alas! who was he?

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): The saints have need of courage, considering the enemies they have to grapple with; the corruptions of their own hearts, the enemies of a man’s own house; the worst of all, Satan, and his principalities and powers; and men of the world, and a world of them: and they have great reason, notwithstanding, to be of good courage, since God is for them; Christ is the Captain of their salvation; the Holy Spirit, that is in them, is greater than he that is in the world; angels encamp around them; they are provided with the whole armour of God; they are engaged in a good cause, are sure of victory, and shall wear the crown of righteousness―and it follows, “and he shall strengthen thine heart”―and the Lord will do it, as He promised to them that wait on Him, Isaiah 40:31, “They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength.”

HENRY AINSWORTH (1569-1622): “Wait on the Lord, be of good courage.” Be comfortable, hold fast (as the Greek hath it), be manly, or, quit thee as a man; which word the apostle Paul uses, 1 Corinthians 16:13.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): But as nothing is more difficult than to give God the honour of relying upon Him, when He hides Himself from us, or delays His assistance, David stirs himself up to collect strength; as if he had said, ‘If fearfulness steal upon thee; if temptation shake thy faith; if the feelings of the flesh rise in tumult, do not faint; but rather endeavor to rise above them by an invincible resolution of mind.’

From this we may learn, that the children of God overcome, not by sullenness, but by patience, when they commit their souls quietly to God; as Isaiah says, “In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength,” Isaiah 30:15. As David did not feel himself equal to great and difficult efforts, he borrows strength from God by prayer. Had he said no more than act like a man, he would have appeared to allege the motions of his own free-will, but as he immediately adds, by way of correction, that God would be at hand to strengthen his heart, he plainly enough shows, that when the saints strive vigorously, they fight in the strength of another, and not in their own.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): As we observe the Scriptures we perceive that “Fear nots” are scattered throughout the Bible as the stars are sprinkled over the whole of the sky. But when we come to Isaiah, we find constellations of them! When I was a boy I learned Isaac Watts’ Catechism and I am glad I did. One of its questions runs thus, “Who was Isaiah?” And the answer is, “He was that Prophet who spoke more of Jesus Christ than all the rest.”

Very well, and for that very reason—that he spoke more of Jesus Christ than all the rest—he is richest in comfort to the people of God and continually he is saying, ‘Fear not.’ Here are a few of Isaiah’s antidotes for the fever of fear—“Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not,” Isaiah 35:4; “Fear you not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God,” Isaiah 41:10; “Fear not, I will help thee,” Isaiah 41:13; “Fear not, thou worm Jacob,” Isaiah 41:14; “Fear not, for I have redeemed thee,” Isaiah 43:1; “Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame,” Isaiah 54:4―and so on. I was going to say, “world without end.” So abundant are these, “Fear nots,” that they grow like the king-cups and the daisies and other sweet flowers of the meadows among which the little children in the springtime delight themselves.

JOHN GILL: Psalm 118:6, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” He was on the side of David―and He is likewise on the side of His people, to fight their battles for them, to support them under all their afflictions, to supply all their wants, to deliver them from all evil, to carry on the work of grace in their souls, and to bring them to glory…I will not fear: what can man do unto me? David did not; he was not afraid of ten thousands of men, no, not of a whole army that encamped against him, God being for him, the strength of his life, and his salvation, Psalm 3:6.

WILLIAM S. PLUMER (1802-1880): There was great wisdom in the prayer of John Wesley: “Lord, if I must contend, let it not be with thy people.” When we have for foes and enemies those who hate good men, we have at least this consolation, that God is not on their side, and therefore they are essentially weak.

RALPH ERSKINE (1685-1752): Think not the government is out of Christ’s hand, when men are doing many sad things, and giving many heavy blows to the work of God.

RICHARD SIBBES: God’s children, when they are delivered, it is usually with the confusion of their enemies.

C. H. SPURGEON: The Israelites at the Red Sea were afraid of Pharaoh and then the Lord said to them, “Fear not, stand still and see the salvation of God.” If you are brought to a pass tonight and know not what to do, take the advice of Holy Scripture and, “Fear not—stand still and see the salvation of God.”

 

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Not Many—But Some

Posted on March 4, 2022 by The Editor

1 Corinthians 1:26

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called .

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): The city of Corinth had many noble families of high birth and quality, and abounded with learned philosophers and rich merchants; yet it was easy to be seen, how that “not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.”

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): State-chambers, cabinets, throne-rooms, and royal palaces are about as little frequented by Christ as the jungles and swamps of India by the cautious traveler. He frequents cottages far more often than regal residences, for there is no room for Jesus Christ in regal halls—Now, dear Friends, this unbelief has usually been the case throughout all ages among the great ones of the earth. In our Saviour’s day, they said, “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in Him?”

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): They were too well satisfied with themselves to see any need of a Saviour. The sneering criticism of these Pharisees has been repeated in every age.

C. H. SPURGEON: The Gospel has usually had a free course among the poor and among those who some call, “the lower orders,” though why they are said to be lower than others, I do not know, unless it is because the heavier and more valuable things generally sink to the bottom.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): That man, however, were an arrant fool, who would infer from this, that God has in this manner abased the glory of the flesh, in order that the great and noble might be shut out from the hope of salvation. There are some foolish persons that make this a pretext for not merely triumphing over the great, as if God had cast them off, but even despising them as far beneath them.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): We spoil, if not corrupt the apostle’s meaning, by adding “are called,” as if God did not send His Gospel to the wise, the powerful, and the noble, or did not will their salvation. The truth is, the Gospel has an equal call to all classes of men; but the wise, the mighty, and the noble, are too busy, or too sensual, to pay any attention to an invitation so spiritual and so Divine.

C. H. SPURGEON: It is true that Christ Himself said, “Many are called, but few are chosen,” yet the call of the Gospel is a universal call to all mankind. Wisdom truly says, “Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of men,” Proverbs 8:4—but, Beloved, there is another call, a special, peculiar, personal, effectual call by which only the Lord’s chosen and redeemed people are called out from among the mass of men by whom they are surrounded.

A. W. PINK: The actual application of redemption commences with the effectual call of the Spirit, by which the elect are brought out of a state of nature into a state of grace.

C. H. SPURGEON: All who have heard the Gospel preached have been called to some extent. The Word of God calls every sinner to repent and trust the Saviour, but that call brings nobody to Christ unless it is accompanied by the special effectual call of the Holy Spirit. When that call is heard in the heart, then the heart responds! The general call of the Gospel is like the common “cluck” of the hen which she is always giving when her chickens are around her. But if there is any danger impending, then she gives a very peculiar call—quite different from the ordinary one—and the little chicks come running as fast as ever they can and hide for safety under her wings! That is the call we need—God’s peculiar and effectual call to His own!

A. W. PINK: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life,” John 10:27,28. This effectual call from God is heard by each of the “sheep” because they are given “ears to hear:” “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them,” Proverbs 20:12.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): It is easy to observe in those words the five links of that golden chain of God’s grace in our salvation: “my sheep,” there is election; “hear my voice,” there is vocation; “and I know them,” there is justification; “and they follow me,” there is sanctification; “and I give unto them eternal life,” there is glorification.

A. W. PINK: This effectual call comes to none but the sheep; the “goats” hear it not—“But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep,” John 10:26.

JOHN GILL: There have been, are, and will be, some that are rich, called by grace, brought into a Gospel church state, and are heirs of the kingdom of heaven; though these are but comparatively few.

C. H. SPURGEON: Zacchaeus was one who was the least likely to be saved because he was rich, Luke 19:2. But even here, Grace knows no distinction. The rich Zaccheus is called from the tree, verse 5. Down he comes and he is saved. I have thought it one of the greatest instances of God’s condescension that He can look down on man. But I will tell you there was a greater condescension than that when Christ looked up to see Zaccheus! For God to look down on His creatures—that is mercy—but for Christ so to humble Himself that He has to look up to one of His own creatures—that becomes mercy, indeed!

EDWARD PAYSON (1783-1827): None, who come to Him, shall be cast out on account of their situation in life. None shall be excluded because they are poor and despised of men—nor shall honours or riches exclude their possessors from the Saviour, if they do not prevent them from coming to Him; for though not many mighty or noble are called, yet some are, and though hard, it is not impossible for a rich man to be saved.

JOHN GILL: The apostle does not say that there were none of the wise, the mighty, and noble called; for there were Crispus, and Sosthenes, rulers of the synagogue, and Gaius, a rich hospitable man, and Erastus the chamberlain of the city, and it may be some others of a like or better figure in life; but there were not many of them; instances of this kind are but a few recorded in the Scripture; as Joseph of Arimathea a rich counsellor, Paulus Sergius a Roman deputy, Dionysius the Areopagite, and some in Caesar’s palace; which shows that nobility, riches, and learning, as they do not at all contribute towards a man’s salvation, so neither can they hinder it where grace takes place.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Therefore there were some, though “not many.”

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): Remember the Countess of Huntingdon? That earnest, devoted woman who lived in the days of Whitefield and the Wesleys, and who was such a help in spreading the gospel? She used to say that she was just going to heaven by the letter “M.” Had the word been “not any noble,” there would have been no hope for her, but the “M” took her in.

 

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The Great Spiritual Danger of Worldly Riches

Posted on February 25, 2022 by The Editor

Luke 18:18-27

A certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): The story we have now read is three times reported in the Gospels; Matthew, Mark and Luke were all moved by the Holy Ghost to record the history of the rich man who came to Christ. This fact should be noticed. It shows us that there are lessons before us which demand special attention.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Very little benefit would accrue to a person from knowing that a rich young man had turned away from Christ because he disliked the directions which our Lord had given him. If we would derive any material instruction from this event, we should consider what aspect it has upon the manners of men in general: we should, after the example which our Lord Himself has set us, contemplate the effects which wealth generally produces on those who possess it, and the obstacles it lays in our way to the kingdom of heaven.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): It is true indeed, that riches do not, in their own nature, hinder us from following God; but, in consequence of the depravity of the human mind, it is scarcely possible for those who have a great abundance to avoid being intoxicated by them.

MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): That which makes it so hard for a rich man to be saved, is the difficulty of having riches and not placing our happiness in them, being secure because of them, and having our hearts cleave unto them, so as we cannot deny ourselves in them to obey any command of God; and the suffering them to be temptations to us to pride, luxury, ambition, oppression, contempt and despising of others.

CHARLES SIMEON: It is difficult for a person to have riches, and not be corrupted by them. Whatever a corrupt heart can desire is attainable through riches. Wealth opens a way for all manner of sensuality and self-indulgence: and, at the same time that it gives us facilities for gratifying our evil inclinations, it leads us into such habits as greatly dispose us to sin. A luxurious table draws us to intemperance; intemperance inflames our passions; and affluence opens an easy way to the indulgence of them. The rich even think that they are, in a measure, licensed to commit iniquity: and, in their eyes, intemperance and lewdness are, at the most, no more than venial follies, which they can commit without shame, and look back upon without remorse. It is difficult for a person to have riches, and not be puffed up by them.

THOMAS MANTON (1620-1677): Wealth often ends in pride.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): Pride breeds in wealth as the worm doth in the apple, and he is a great rich man indeed, and greater than his riches, that doth not think himself great because he is rich.

CHARLES SIMEON: As great respect is paid to riches, the people who possess them are apt to think that they deserve it. They arrogate it to themselves; they are offended, if any persons refuse to gratify them with the homage which they claim. They shew in their look, their dress, their manner of speaking, yea, in their very gait, they “think themselves to be somebody.” They expect their wishes to be consulted, and their judgment to be followed. They are impatient of contradiction. They do not like, either in public or in private, to be told of their faults. If a minister deal faithfully with their consciences, they rather condemn him for what they will call his rudeness or harshness, than themselves for their departure from God. How commonly this disposition springs from riches, we may judge from that direction which is given to ministers; “Charge them who are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded,” 1 Timothy 6:17.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Somehow or other―“Gold and the gospel seldom do agree, Religion always sides with poverty;”―Because a man’s possessions are so liable to get into his heart. He is apt to turn them into idols, and to make devotion to them the great object of his life; as long as he does so, he cannot be saved.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): To be rich, therefore, is in general a great misfortune: but what rich man can be convinced of this?

CHARLES SIMEON: Where is the man, who, if offered great riches, would be afraid to accept them, lest they should impede his way to heaven? or, when congratulated on his attainment of wealth, would damp the ardour of his friends by entreating rather an interest in their prayers, that the newly-acquired riches might not corrupt and destroy his soul? Where is the man possessed of riches, who does not think his way to heaven as easy as that of any other person? In short, where is the person who does not say in his heart, “Give me riches: I will run the risk of their doing me any harm: I have no doubt I shall get to heaven with them as easily as without them?” But would it be thus, if we really believed the words of our blessed Lord?

ADAM CLARKE: Christ himself affirms the difficulty of the salvation of a rich man, with an oath, verily; but who of the rich either hears or believes Him!

JOHN CALVIN: So they who are exceedingly rich are held by Satan bound, as it were, in chains, that they may not raise their thoughts to heaven; nay more, they bury and entangle themselves, and became utter slaves to the earth. The comparison of the camel, which is soon after added, is intended to amplify the difficulty; for it means that the rich are so swelled with pride and presumption, that they cannot endure to be reduced to the straits through which God makes His people to pass.

CHARLES SIMEON: Alas! even the Apostles themselves scarcely knew how to receive so hard a saying: we are told, that they were “astonished out of measure,” Mark 10:26. But it becomes us to credit the assertion of Him who could not err, and would not deceive.

J. C. RYLE: Few of our Lord’s sayings sound more startling than this. Few run more counter to the opinions and prejudices of mankind. Few are so little believed. Yet this saying is true, and worthy of all acceptation. Riches, which all desire to obtain—riches, for which men labour and toil, and become gray before their time—riches are a most perilous possession. They often inflict great injury on the soul. They lead men into many temptations. They engross men’s thoughts and affections.

THOMAS BROOKS (1608-1680): Earthly riches are called thorns, Luke 8:14; and well they may, for as thorns, they pierce both head and heart; the head with cares in getting them, and the heart with grief in parting with them.

CHARLES SIMEON: Hence that caution of the Psalmist’s, “If riches increase, set not your heart upon them,” Psalm 62:10.

JOHN CALVIN:  This doctrine is highly useful to all; to the rich, that, being warned of their danger, they may be on their guard; to the poor, that, satisfied with their lot, they may not so eagerly desire what would bring more damage than gain.

 

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Jesus Christ’s Gracious Restoration of Peter

Posted on February 18, 2022 by The Editor

John 21:14-19

This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.

Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.

And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): To the careful Bible reader, who remembers the Apostle’s thrice-repeated denial of Christ, the passage cannot fail to be a deeply interesting portion of Scripture.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Our blessed Lord was full of compassion towards Peter, after his shameful dereliction of duty: He looked upon him with pity—and restored him publicly to his office, from which he had fallen. But in what manner did he restore him?

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): “When they had dined,” Jesus took Peter apart to let in upon his soul the light of truth, so that by it he might discern the root from where all his failure had sprung. That root was self-confidence which had led him to place himself above his fellow-disciples. This root had to be exposed.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Mark carefully how the Lord began: not with a reproach, still less a word of condemnation, nor even with a “Why did you deny Me?” but “Lovest thou me more than these?”

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): Remember what Simon had said on the night of the betrayal, before they went out to the Garden. “Master, though all men forsake Thee, yet will I not.” He was saying practically, I love Him more than all the rest of them. “Lovest thou me more than these?” I think Christ pointed to John and James and Thomas and the rest of them. And Peter answered, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.”

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): The second and third Christ put this question, He left out the comparison “more than these,” because Peter, in his answer, modestly left it out, not willing to compare himself with his brethren, much less to prefer himself before them.

A. W. PINK: Yet, observe that the Lord did not now address him as “Peter,” but “Simon, son of Jonas.” This is not without its significance. “Simon” was his original name, and stands in contrast from the new name which the Lord had given him: “And when Jesus beheld him, he said, thou art Simon the son of Jonas: that shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone,” John 1:42. The way in which the Lord now addressed His disciple intentionally called into question the “Peter.” Christ would here remind him of his entire past as a natural man, and especially that his fall had originated in “Simon” and not “Peter!”

J. C. RYLE: This mode of address, thrice repeated in this remarkable conversation, is only used by our Lord on this occasion, and when Peter first came to Him.

A. W. PINK: On one other occasion did the Lord address him as “Simon, son of Jonah,” and that was in Matthew 16:17, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon son of Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” But note that the Lord is quick to add, “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Thus this first word of the Lord to His disciple in John 21:15 was designed to pointedly remind him of his glorious confession, which would serve to make him the more sensitive of his late and awful denial.

J. C. RYLE: There are little nice distinctions in the original Greek in the words that are used, which the English language cannot convey. But they deserve notice, and are not without meaning. Three times we find Him saying, “Feed” my flock: once, “Feed my lambs;” and twice, my “sheep.” Can we doubt that this thrice-repeated charge was full of deep meaning?

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): “Feed My lambs”—that is, instruct such as are truly gracious, but young in years. It is very remarkable that the Greek word used here for “Feed My lambs” is very different from the word employed in the precept, “Feed My sheep.” The second “feed” means exercise the office of a shepherd—rule, regulate, lead, manage them, do all that a shepherd has to do towards a flock. But this first “feed” does not include all that: it means distinctly to feed—namely, instructing children in the faith.

J. C. RYLE: Two different Greek words are used to express our one word “love.”

MATTHEW HENRY: In the first two enquiries, the Greek word is Agapas me—‘Dost thou retain a kindness for me?’ In answer Peter uses another word, more emphatic, Philō se—‘I love thee dearly.’ In putting the question the last time, Christ uses that same word: ‘And dost thou indeed love me dearly?’

C. H. MACKINTOSH: This was a pointed and strong question, and it went right to the very bottom of Peter’s heart.

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM (347-407): Peter was grieved, fearing Christ saw something in his heart which he saw not himself, that might lead to another fall—that Christ was about to tell him of it, as He had before predicted his denial.

A. W. PINK: That Peter was “grieved” does not mean he was offended at the Lord because He repeated His question, but it signifies that he was touched to the quick, was deeply sorrowful, as he recalled his threefold denial. It is parallel with his “weeping bitterly” in Luke 22:62.

JOHN NEWTON (1725-1807): When our dear Lord questioned Peter, He said not, ‘Art thou wise, learned, and eloquent?’ He said not, ‘Art thou clear, and sound, and orthodox?’ but this only, “Lovest thou me?” An answer to this was sufficient then; why not now?

C. H. SPURGEON: Here is a lesson for all who would be pastors of Christ’s flock. The first necessity of a true pastor is love to Christ, the second necessity of a true pastor is love to Christ, and the third necessity of a true pastor is love to Christ. A man who does not love the great Shepherd cannot properly feed either His sheep or lambs.

J. C. RYLE: Our Lord, like a skillful physician, stirred up this grief intentionally. He intended to prick the Apostle’s conscience, to teach him a solemn lesson. For another thing, Peter uses stronger language when he appeals to our Lord’s knowledge of his heart. “Lord,” he says, “Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love Thee.”

A. W. PINK: What marvelous grace was this! Not only does the Lord accept Peter’s appeal to His omniscience, but He gives here a blessed commission.

MATTHEW HENRY: This word, “Follow me,” was a further confirmation of his restoration to his Master’s favour, and to his apostleship; for “Follow me” was the first call, Matthew 4:18,19. And it was an explication of the prediction of his sufferings, which perhaps Peter at first did not fully understand, till Christ gave him that key to it, Follow me—“Expect to be treated as I have been, and to tread the same bloody path that I have trodden; for the disciple is not greater than his Lord.” It was to excite him to, and encourage him in faithfulness and diligence in his work as an apostle…He girded up the loins of his mind to the service.

A. W. PINK: See how He comforted and strengthened him.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): That Peter might be prepared to endure it.

 

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A Good Wife is a Gift from God

Posted on February 11, 2022 by The Editor

Genesis 2:18, 21-23; Proverbs 31:10, 12—Proverbs 19:14; Proverbs 18:22

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him…And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies…She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

A prudent wife is from the LORD…Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): Marriage, with all its troubles and embarrassments, is a blessing from God; and there are few cases where a wife of any sort is not better than none, because celibacy is an evil; for God himself hath said, “It is not good for man to be alone.”

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): It is neither for his profit, nor his comfort.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): Solitude is not good, excepting only him whom God exempts as by a special privilege.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): A good wife is a great blessing to a man. He that finds a wife, that is, a wife indeed, finds a help meet, that is a wife in the original acceptation of the word―a bad wife does not deserve to be called by a name of so much honour.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): Every married woman is not a wife; a bad woman is but the shadow of a wife―“the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping,” Proverbs 27:15; like the dropping of rain, in a rainy day, into a house out of repair, and which is very uncomfortable to, the inhabitants of it. Such are the contentions of a peevish, ill natured, and brawling wife, who is always scolding; and which is a continual vexation to a man, and renders him very uneasy in life.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): Probably it is that to which Solomon alludes, when he saith, “It is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top, than with a brawling woman in a wide house,” Proverbs 21:9.

ADAM CLARKE: As to good wives and bad wives, they are relatively so, in general; and most of them that have been bad afterwards, have been good at first; and we well know the best things may deteriorate, and the world generally allows that where there are matrimonial contentions, there are faults on both sides.

CHARLES BRIDGES (1794-1869): This is obviously to be taken with limitation. Manoah found a good thing in his wife, Judges 13:23. But not Job, Job 2:9,10. Some find “a crown to their head;” others, “rottenness to their bones,” Proverbs 12:4. That which alone deserves the name is indeed a good thing. If in a state of innocence “it was not good for a man to be alone,” much more in a world of care and trouble “two are better than one” for mutual support, helpfulness, and sympathy. The good thing implies godliness, and fitness. Godliness is found, when the man marries “only in the Lord,” 1 Corinthians 7:39, and only one who is the Lord’s.

JOHN CALVIN: Now, since God assigns the woman as a help to the man, He not only prescribes to wives the rule of their vocation to instruct them in their duty, but he also pronounces that marriage will really prove to men the best support of life. We may therefore conclude that the order of nature implies that the woman should be the helper of the man. The vulgar proverb, indeed, is, that she is a necessary evil; but the voice of God is rather to be heard, which declares that woman is given as a companion and an associate to the man, to assist him to live well. On this main point hangs another; that women, being instructed in their duty of helping their husbands, should study to keep this divinely appointed order.

ADAM CLARKE: A prudent wife is from the Lord―one who has a good understanding avoids complaining, though she may often have cause for it.

MATTHEW HENRY: A wife that is prudent, in opposition to one that is contentious. For, though a wife that is continually finding fault may think it is her wit and wisdom to be so, it is really her folly; a prudent wife is meek and quiet, and makes the best of every thing.

JOHN TRAPP: Nature makes a woman, election a wife; but to be prudent, wise, and virtuous is of the Lord. A good wife was one of the first real and royal gifts bestowed on Adam. God set all the creatures before him ere He gave him a wife, that, seeing no other fit help, he might prize such a gift; not a gift of industry, but “of destiny,” as one saith; for “marriages are made in heaven,” as the common sort can say, and as very heathens acknowledge.

MATTHEW HENRY: If a man has such a wife, let him not ascribe it to the wisdom of his own choice or his own management for the wisest have been deceived both in and by a woman; but let him ascribe it to the goodness of God, who made him a help meet for him, and perhaps by some hits and turns of providence that seemed casual brought her to him.

CHARLES BRIDGES: But how is this good thing found?

MATTHEW HENRY: Happy marriages, we are sure, are made in heaven.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): It is God that gives him a wise and discreet woman to be an help-meet to him…A good one―and no other can be meant, even a good natured one; wise, prudent, careful, and industrious; a proper helpmeet, a virtuous woman―is from the Lord, and it is under His direction and guidance in seeking, that a man finds a good wife.

CHARLES BRIDGES: Isaac found it, where every Christian looks for his blessing, as an answer to prayer, Genesis 24. A man’s choice for his own indulgence will bring a curse upon himself and his family, 2 Chronicles 21:1-6. “Choose thou mine inheritance for me,” is the cry and confidence of the child of God, Psalm 47:4. Then truly will he obtain the gift, not as the result of fortune, or as the proof of his own good discernment; but, as Adam received his wife, “from the Lord.”―“The LORD brought her to the man” by His special Providence, and therefore as His special gift. Thus is the prudent wife honoured as a special blessing of God’s immediate choosing, and therefore to be obtained by our prayers at the hand of the giver.

MATTHEW HENRY: He that sought such a one with care and prayer, and has found what he sought, has found a good thing, a jewel of great value, a rare jewel; he has found that which will not only contribute more than any thing to his comfort in this life, but will forward him in the way to heaven…A discreet and virtuous wife is a choice gift of God’s providence to a man.

CHARLES BRIDGES: Truly “her price is above rubies.” No treasure is comparable to her. It is not too much to say with Aristotle, that prince of heathen philosophy: “If women be good, the half of the commonwealth may be happy where they are.”

 

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The Discernment of the Men of Issachar

Posted on February 5, 2022 by The Editor

1 Chronicles 12:12,13, 32

At that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, like the host of God…[and they] came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the LORD…And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.

JOHN ANGELL JAMES (1785-1869): The Israelites who were of the tribe of Issachar, in the time of David, received a high praise for understanding the times, and knowing the best course for the inhabitants of the kingdom to do. They were thoughtful, intelligent men, who studied and who understood the signs of the times, and were well versed in public affairs; they knew the character of the age that was passing over them, and what was best to be done for the exigencies of their nation.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): It appears that in their wisdom, experience, and skill, their brethren had the fullest confidence; and nothing was done but by their direction and advice.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): They understood public affairs, the temper of the nation, and the tendencies of the present events. It is the periphrasis of statesmen that they “know the times,” Esther 1:13.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): These were men that knew the fit time for doing anything.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): It is the character of the wise, that he discerneth the time; and the want of this discernment is the cause of much human misery. For, “to every purpose there is time and judgment,” the proper season and manner when it should be put in execution; the ignorance, improvidence, and neglect of men in this behalf, occasion most of their distresses. They trifle with the opportunity, and it slips irrecoverably by; “therefore the misery of man is great upon him,” and he has usually only his own negligence to blame for the sufferings that he undergoes; which prudent foresight, and careful diligence, might probably have prevented. “For he knoweth not that which shall be,” or whether ever again he shall have the opportunity that he has lost, and none know what tomorrow will bring forth:” for who can tell him when it shall be, or how it shall be?” Future events are secrets concealed from human foresight; the present moment only is our own, and time is to be redeemed by us, Ecclesiastes 8:16,17.

MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): Political prudence to discern and embrace the fit seasons for all actions—this is so considerable a circumstance especially in public affairs, that the success or disappointment of them depends very much upon the right or wrong timing of them.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Solomon tells us, that “there is to every thing a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven,” Ecclesaiastes 3:1. To discern all these occasions, and to improve them aright, is the grand line of distinction between the thoughtless and considerate, the fool and the wise, Ecclesiastes 2:14, Proverbs 22:3.

JOHN ANGELL JAMES: Thoughtful men fix their eyes on the currents of events, to see which way they are flowing; who not only make themselves acquainted with the surface of things—but who look beneath it, and endeavour to trace events backward to their causes, and forward to their consequences; who not only exercise their curiosity in knowing what is taking place—but their reason in judging of its tendencies and influences; who read the histories of past times, as well as the chronicles of the present age, to form opinions founded upon examination, comparison, and legitimate deduction. They endeavour to discern the connection of events, and their influence upon the great interests of social happiness, liberty and true religion.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): The men of Issachar were such as “knew the times,” and what was best to be done in them. This skill they had gotten by much reading of politics and histories, and long observation.

CHARLES SIMEON: Knowing how to judge of the various occurrences that arise, and how to improve them to the good of the state—that constitutes the great science of politics: and it is to this knowledge, that the expression “understanding of the times” primarily refers. A statesman cannot determine what will be fit to be done a year hence, because circumstances may arise which would render all his plans abortive. He may indeed display much wisdom in the exercise of foresight, and in providing for contingencies; but still he must of necessity follow events which he cannot control, and be himself controlled by existing circumstances: and he is the greatest benefactor to the state, who is enabled to judge of them most correctly, and to adapt his measures to them most wisely.

WILLIAM KELLY (1821-1906): Above all, we should remember that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

JOHN GILL: This shows who the wise men are, and in what true wisdom lies.

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): We have many examples of this in scripture; and it would be our wisdom to consider them, and to weigh the great practical truth they illustrate.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): David found himself the possessor of a tottering throne, troubled with the double evil of faction at home, and invasion from abroad. He traced at once the evil to its true source, and began at the fountainhead. His were the politics of piety, which after all are the wisest and most profound. He knew that the displeasure of the Lord had brought calamity upon the nation, and to the removal of that displeasure he set himself by earnest prayer. “O God, Thou hast cast us off,” Psalm 60:1. David clearly sees the fruits of the divine anger, he traces the flight of Israel’s warriors, the breaking of her power, the division in her body politic, to the hand of God. Whoever might be the secondary agent of these disasters, he beholds the Lord’s hand as the prime moving cause, and pleads with the Lord concerning the matter.

JOHN ANGELL JAMES: Recognize, in the current of human affairs, the scheme and operations of an all-wise, all-controlling Providence.

CHARLES SIMEON: We may, however, lay down one general rule, which will be of service in determining most of the cases that can occur. The consideration of times and circumstances is never to affect our principles, but only the application of them. Our principles must be fixed by the unerring standard of God’s word. The love of God, and the love of our fellow-creatures, a regard for truth, and honour, and integrity, with all other Christian graces, must be as fixed principles in our minds, from which we are never to swerve on any account. We must not regard life itself in comparison of these. But then the peculiar mode in which these principles are to operate, must be a matter of discretion, arising from the circumstances of the case.

CHARLES BRIDGES (1794-1869): Very important is it to maintain an independence of mind, quite distinct from pride, which elevates the mind far above doing or conniving at evil, for the sake of pleasing a patron. Many have been forced to great entanglement of conscience, perhaps to vote contrary to their conscience, rather than lose the great man’s smile.

THOMAS COKE: Some make it a duty blindly to comply with every whim of their superiors, without ever allowing themselves the liberty to examine whether they are right or wrong; but the wise man always makes use of his discernment.

JOHN ANGELL JAMES: He is the best reformer who begins with the reformation of himself; no systems will be effectual for public improvement which leave out of consideration the necessity of individual regeneration and Christian virtue. A deep sense of personal responsibility should lie on every man’s conscience. Every man is a part of the existing generation, and does something by his own character and conduct to form the character of the age. Each ought therefore to resolve—What I would have the age to be, that I will endeavour to be.

 

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