Pentecostal Fire

Posted on May 21, 2021 by The Editor

Psalm 29:7; Jeremiah 23:29; Acts 2:1-4

The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.

Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): “The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.” Pentecost is a suggestive commentary upon this verse.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Some refer this verse, in the figurative and mystical sense, to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai—but rather this may be applied to the cloven, or divided tongues of fire which sat upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost, as an emblem of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit bestowed on them.

CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH (1807-1885): “The voice of Jehovah cutteth out flames of fire,” that is, “sendeth out divided flames of fire.” This is, as Theodoret* observed, very descriptive of the divine action at Pentecost, sending forth divided flames, in the tongues of fire which were divided off from one heavenly source or fountain of flame, and sat upon the heads of the apostles, and which filled them with the fire of holy zeal and love.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): The sign given was fire, that John Baptist’s saying concerning Christ might be fulfilled, “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire,” Luke 3:16—with the Holy Ghost, as with fire. They were now, in the Feast of Pentecost, celebrating the memorial of the giving of the law upon mount Sinai; and as that was given in fire, and therefore is called a “fiery law,” Deuteronomy 33:2. The Word of God is like fire.

JOHN GILL: The legal part of it is as fire—like fire, it is quick and piercing, and penetrating into the hearts and consciences of men; and works wrath there, and raises a fearful expectation of fiery indignation; it threatens with everlasting fire; it sentences men to the fire of hell; and the righteous Judge, in the execution of it, will be a consuming fire to wicked men.

MATTHEW HENRY: Fire has different effects, according as the matter is on which it works; it hardens clay, but softens wax; it consumes the dross, but purifies the gold. So the Word of God is to some “a savour of life unto life, to others of death unto death,” 2 Corinthians 2:16. God appeals here to the consciences of those to whom the Word was sent: “Is not my word like fire?” And of the gospel Christ says, “I have come to send fire on the earth,” Luke 12:49.

JOHN GILL: The Gospel part of the Word is like fire, on account of the light the entrance of it gives to sinners; by which they see their own impurity, impotence, and the insufficiency of their own righteousness, and the way of life and salvation by Christ; and by the light of this fire saints are directed in their walk and conversation; and by it immoralities, errors, and superstition, are detected: also on account of the heat of it; it is the means of a vital heat to sinners, the savour of life to them; and is warming and comforting to saints, and causes their hearts to burn within them; it inflames them with love to God, Christ, and one another, and with zeal for truth and the interest of a Redeemer.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Let any one, that has ever noticed its effects, say, whether it is not “like fire,” which dissolves the hardest metal; and “like a hammer, which breaks in pieces.” Go to the populous city of Nineveh, and see all orders of men, from the greatest to the least, dissolved in tears at the preaching of one single prophet, Jonah 3:4-10; or look back to the day of Pentecost, when, by the preaching of Peter, three thousand persons, with their hands yet reeking with the Saviour’s blood, were converted to the Lord. Are not these instances sufficient to shew what wonders the Word of God is able to effect?

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): But however we understand the words, let us take heed lest we think, as some have thought and affirmed, that the sacred writings are quite sufficient of themselves to enlighten, convince, and convert the soul, and that there is no need of the Holy Spirit. Fire itself must be applied by an agent in order to produce its effects; and surely the hammer cannot break the rock in pieces, unless wielded by an able workman. And it is God’s Spirit alone that can thus apply it.

MATTHEW HENRY: From the Spirit we have the Word of God, and by Him, Christ would speak to the world. He gave the Spirit to the disciples, not only to endue them with knowledge, but to endue them with a power to publish and proclaim to the world what they knew; for “the dispensation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal,” 1 Corinthians 12:7.

JOHN GILL: It seems best of all, as before, to understand this of the voice of Christ in the Gospel, which cuts and hews down all the goodliness of men, and lays them to the ground, Hosea 6:5; and is of a dividing nature, and lays open all the secrets of the heart, Hebrews 4:12.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): And as even flames of fire, at the voice of God are divided, so the heart of a sinner is divided and separated, in that day when Jesus speaks to the conscience, from all its idols.

JOHN GILL: Like flames of fire, it has both light and heat in it; it is the means of enlightening men’s eyes to see their sad estate, and their need of Christ, and salvation by Him; and of warming their souls with its refreshing truths and promises, and of inflaming their love to God and Christ, and of setting their affections on things above, and of causing their hearts to burn within them—though it has a scorching and tormenting heat to wicked men, and fills them with burning malice and envy; and, through the corruption of human nature, is the occasion of contention and discord, for which reason Christ calls it fire—it is the occasion of dividing one friend from another, Luke 12:51-53.

C. H. SPURGEON: Note that the emblem was not only fire, but a tongue of fire, for God meant to have a speaking Church.

MATTHEW HENRY: These tongues were cloven, to signify that God would hereby divide unto all nations the knowledge of His grace. “We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God, ” Acts 2:11. It is probable that the apostles spoke of Christ, and redemption by Him, and the grace of the gospel; and these are indeed the great things of God.

C. H. SPURGEON: Babel’s curse was now removed—not by a reversing of God’s curse, for God’s curses and blessings are both like the laws of the Medes and Persians which never can be altered; men still spoke the tongues of confusion, but the apostles were able to speak to them all after receiving that miraculous gift of tongues.

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): In Genesis 11:6,7, divers tongues were given as a judgment upon man’s pride. In Acts 2:3, divers tongues were given in grace to meet man’s need. And in Revelation 7:9-12, the various tongues are all found united in one song of praise to God and to the Lamb.

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*Editor’s Note: Theodoret was born in 393 AD, and was a theologian of the School of Antioch; he was the Bishop of Cyrrhus in Turkey, from 423 until his death in 457 AD.

 

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Heavenly Housing

Posted on May 14, 2021 by The Editor

John 14:1-3

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): Our Saviour here intends the encouragement and comfort of His disciples, by assuring them, that in the place whereto He was going before them, there was ample room to receive them and everything to accommodate them in the most delightful manner.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): A hope of future happiness affords strong consolation under present trials. The children of God, if destitute of this, would be “of all men most miserable;” but this renders them incomparably more happy, even under the most afflictive dispensations, than the greatest fullness of earthly things could make them.

J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): We have, secondly, in this passage, a very comfortable account of heaven, or the future abode of saints.

CHARLES SIMEON: We shall consider our Lord’s description of heaven. Our Lord thus describes it: “My Father’s house of many mansions.”

J. C. RYLE: Heaven is “a Father’s house.”

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): And His Father is our Father, to Whom He was now ascending; so that in the right of their elder brother, all true believers shall be welcome to that happiness, as to their home.

J. C. RYLE: This is one idea of heaven. It is, in a word, home: the home of Christ and Christians. This is a sweet and touching expression. Home, as we all know, is the place where we are generally loved for our own sakes, and not for our gifts or possessions; the place where we are loved to the end, never forgotten, and always welcome.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): There are many mansions, but they are all in our Father’s house.

CHARLES SIMEON: Here seems to be an allusion to the temple at Jerusalem: God dwelt there in a more especial manner; around it were chambers for the priests and Levites. Thus in heaven God dwells, and displays His glory; there also are mansions where His redeemed people “see Him as He is.”

JEREMY BURROUGHS (1599-1647): Heaven would not be heaven without the presence of God.

J. C. RYLE: Heaven is a place where Christ Himself shall be present. He will not be content to dwell without His people—“Where I am, there ye shall be also.” We need not think that we shall be alone and neglected. Our Saviour—our elder Brother—our Redeemer, Who loved us and gave Himself for us, shall be in the midst of us forever. What we shall see, and whom we shall see in heaven, we cannot fully conceive yet, while we are in the body. But one thing is certain: we shall see Christ. Let us note that one of the simplest, plainest ideas of heaven is here. It is being “ever with the Lord.”

ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER (1772-1851): Christ is the centre of attraction in heaven.

J. C. RYLE: Heaven is a place of “many mansions.”

MATTHEW HENRY: There are many mansions, for there are many sons to be brought to glory, and Christ exactly knows their number, nor will He be straitened for room by the coming of more company than He expects.

THOMAS COKE: The Greek word μοναι signifies “quiet and continued abodes,” and therefore seems happily expressed by our English word mansion, the etymology and import of which is just the same.

ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): “Mansions” means places of permanent abode. There is only one other occasion in this Gospel in which the word here translated “mansions” is employed, and it is this: “abode,” John 14:23.—“If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

J. C. RYLE: Heaven is a place of lasting, permanent, and eternal dwellings. Here in the body we are in lodgings, tents, and tabernacles, and must submit to many changes. In heaven we shall be settled at last, and go out no more. “Here we have no continuing city,” Hebrews 13:14. Our house not made with hands shall never be taken down.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Noah’s ark was furnished with “rooms” or “nests,” Genesis 6:14. In every other passage in the Old Testament where that Hebrew word occurs, it is translated “nest.” We hesitate to press the spiritual signification here; yet, we have seen that the ark is such a striking and comprehensive type of our salvation in Christ we must believe that this detail has some meaning, whether we are able to discern it or no. The thought which is suggested to us is, that in Christ we have something more than a refuge, we have a resting place; we are like birds in their nests, the objects of Another’s loving care. Oh, is it that the “nests” in the ark look forward to the “many mansions” in the Father’s House? which our Lord has gone to prepare for us. It is rather curious that there is some uncertainty about the precise meaning of the Greek word here translated “mansions.” Weymouth renders it, “In My Father’s house are many resting places!”

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Mansions of love, peace, joy, and rest, which always remain.

J. C. RYLE: Chrysostom, Augustine, and several other ancient writers think the “many mansions” means the degrees of glory…That there are degrees of glory in heaven is undoubtedly true, but I do not think it is the truth of this text. The modern idea, that our Lord meant that heaven was a place for all sorts of creeds and religions, seems utterly unwarranted by the text. From the whole context He is evidently speaking for the special comfort of Christians. There will be room for all believers and room for all sorts, for little saints as well as great ones, for the weakest believer as well as for the strongest. The feeblest child of God need not fear there will be no place for him. None will be shut out but impenitent sinners and obstinate unbelievers.

JOHN MASON (1646-1694): In heaven there is the presence of all good and the absence of all evil.

THOMAS BROOKS (1608-1680): Heaven is a garment of glory, that is only suited to him that is holy. God, who is truth itself, and cannot lie, hath said it, that “without holiness no man shall see the Lord,” Hebrews 12:14. Mark that word “no man.”—without holiness here, no heaven hereafter. “And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth,” Revelation 21:27. God will at last shut the gates of glory against every person that is without heart purity.

J. C. RYLE: It does seem clear that heaven would be a miserable place to an unholy man. It cannot be otherwise.

ROWLAND HILL (1744-1833): If an unholy man were to get to heaven, he would feel like a hog in a flower garden.

AUGUSTINE (354-430): Heaven is the perfectly ordered and harmonious enjoyment of God, and of one another in God.

ALEXANDER MacLAREN: Our mansion is in God. So ask yourselves, Have you a place in that heavenly home?

JOHN MASON: How can we expect to live with God in heaven if we love not to live with Him on earth?

 

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A Mother’s Law

Posted on May 7, 2021 by The Editor

Proverbs 6:20-23

My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

WILLIAM GURNALL (1617-1679): The church began at first in a family, and was preserved by the godly care of par­ents in instructing their children and household in the truths of God, whereby the knowledge of God was transmitted from generation to generation; and though the church is not confined to such strait limits, yet every private family is as a little nursery to the church. If the nursery be not carefully planted, the orchard will soon decay.

WILLIAM ARNOT (1808-1875): Parents are, by the constitution of things, in an important sense mediators between God and their children for a time. What you give them they receive; what you tell them they believe. This is their nature. You should weigh well what law, and what practice you impress first upon their tender hearts. First ideas and habits are to them most important. These give direction to their course, and tone to their character through life.

WILLIAM GURNALL: Consider it hath ever been the saints’ practice to instruct and teach their children the way of God. David we find dropping instruction into his son Solomon: And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind,” 1 Chronicles, 28:9. Though a king, he did not put it off to his chaplains, but whetted it on him with his own lips. Neither was his queen Bathsheba forgetful of her duty, her gracious counsel is upon record, Proverbs 31:1-31; and that she may do it with the more seriousness and solemnity, we find her stirring up her motherly bowels, to let her son see she fetched her words deep, even from her heart: “What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?” Proverbs 31:2. Indeed that counsel is most like to go to the heart which comes from thence. Parents know not what impression such melting expressions of their love mingled with their instructions, leave with their children.

CHARLES BRIDGES (1794-1869): Who can estimate the worth of a Christian mother?

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): What amazing affection does a mother feel toward her child which she cherishes in her bosom, suckles on her breast, and watches over with tender care, so that she passes sleepless nights, wears herself out by continued anxiety, and forgets herself!

WILLIAM ARNOT: A father’s commandment is the generic form, and is usually employed to signify parental authority; but here, in addition to the general formula, “the law of a mother” is specifically singled out.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): The “law of thy mother” is mentioned to show that the same respect is to be had to a mother as to a father, the commandment and law of them being the same, and they standing in the same relation; which yet children are apt to make a difference in, and while they stand in awe of their father and his precepts, slight their mother and her directions, which ought not to be.

WILLIAM ARNOT: The first feature that arrests attention in this picture is, that effects are attributed to the law of a mother which only God’s law can produce. The inference is obvious and sure; it is assumed that the law which a mother instills is the Word of God dwelling richly in her own heart, and that she acts as a channel to convey that Word to the hearts of her children. The mother should be much with the children herself—so as to drink in what you contain; the only safety is that you be by grace led into Christ, so that what they get from you, shall be not what springs within you, but what flows into you from the Spring-head of holiness. To the children, it is the law of their mother, and therefore they receive it; but in substance it is the truth from Jesus, and to receive it is life. It is the law which converts the soul and makes wise the simple, poured through a mother’s lips into infants’ ears.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Babes receive impressions long before we are aware of the fact. During the first months of a child’s life, it learns more than we imagine. It soon learns the love of its mother and its own dependence—and, if the mother is wise, it learns the meaning of obedience and the necessity of yielding its will to a higher will. This may be the keynote of its whole future life. If it learns obedience and submission early, it may save a thousand tears from the child’s eyes and as many from the mother’s heart.

WILLIAM ARNOT: In the pliant time of childhood, character is molded chiefly by the mother. Many melting stories are told on earth, and I suppose many more in heaven, about the struggle carried on through youth and manhood, between present temptations and the memory of a mother’s law. Almighty grace delights to manifest itself in weakness; and oft the echo of a woman’s voice, rising up in the deep recesses of memory, has put a legion of devils to flight.

C. H. SPURGEON: From a very child Timothy had known the sacred writings, 2 Timothy 3:15. This expression is, no doubt, used to show that we cannot begin too early to imbue the minds of our children with Scriptural knowledge…The Holy Scripture may be learned by children as soon as they are capable of understanding anything. It is a very remarkable fact which I have heard asserted by many teachers, that children will learn to read out of the Bible better than from any other book—we make a mistake when we think that we must begin with something else and lead up to the Scriptures.

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): The grand point in dealing with children is to insist upon obedience. It is of great importance. If this be carried out from the very first, it will save a world of trouble to both parents and children…Parents are to beware of provoking their children to wrath by arbitrary conduct, by exhibiting partiality towards one more than another, and by needless crossing of the will of the child merely to make a display of parental authority. The child should ever see that the parent has his real interest at heart and that true love is the motive spring of every act. But we must insist on the obedience of children, even in this age of independence—an age specially marked by disobedience to parents and by gross disrespect.

WILLIAM ARNOT: There is in the spiritual department something corresponding to the birth, when the parent travails again until the child be born unto the Lord; and there is here also, something corresponding to the nursing. Great must be the delight of a mother, herself renewed, when she becomes the channel through which the “milk of the Word” flows into her child, 1 Peter 2:2; more especially when she feels the child desiring that milk, and with appetite drawing it for the sustenance of a new life. Oh, woman, if it cannot be said, great is thy faith, even although it should be small as a grain of mustard seed, yet great is thy opportunity!

 

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Tax Time

Posted on April 30, 2021 by The Editor

Luke 21:25; Daniel 11:20; Matthew 22:17

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity…

Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes.

What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): “Distress” is now no longer confined to any one people but is international and earth-wide in its reach. The “distress” and suffering caused by the exorbitant cost of living when it is becoming more and more difficult to secure even the bare necessaries of life. The “distress” occasioned by increasing taxation and the accumulation of national debts which must prove intolerable burdens for future generations to bear.

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): We often hear it said that there is nothing more certain than death and taxes. Taxes seem to be quite certain.

EDWARD PAYSON (1783-1827): Our Saviour, when asked by the Jews whether it were right to pay tribute to Caesar, the Roman Emperor, replied, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” Luke 20:25.

A. W. PINK: God requires us to render submission to human government: to be obedient to its laws, to pay the taxes it appoints, to cooperate in upholding its authority.

H. A. IRONSIDE: As they were about to scourge the apostle Paul, Acts 22:25, he stood on his right as a Roman citizen. I believe there is a lesson for us in that…Since it was right for Paul to claim Roman citizenship in order not to suffer scourging, then it was also incumbent on him to fulfill the responsibilities of that citizenship. And this is true of any citizen of any country in this world. In other words, if I am to have certain protection as a citizen, I owe it to my country to act accordingly when it comes to fulfilling my responsibilities—so, I am to be loyal to my government, pay my taxes…It would be unthinkable that one would be entitled to claim protection from a country if he did not loyally respond to the rightful demands of its government.

EDWARD PAYSON: The justice, and propriety of these commands, is obvious. There is an implied contract, or agreement between a government and its subjects, by which the subjects engage to give a portion of their property in exchange for the blessings of protection, security, and social order. So long as they enjoy these blessings, they receive a valuable consideration for the sums which they contribute for the taxes which they pay for the support of government.

H. A. IRONSIDE: They were willing to use Caesar’s money; they were ready to profit thereby. Then they should pay such taxes to Caesar as he demanded.

A. W. PINK: Evasion in paying taxes is another form of theft.

JOHN ANGELL JAMES (1785-1869): The general principles of reason would be quite sufficient to prove its criminality. But the New Testament has added the authority of revelation to the dictates of reason; and thus made it a sin against God, no less than a crime against society, to defraud the revenue. “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom,” is the authoritative language of Paul, Romans 13:7. This precept derives great force from the consideration that it was delivered at a time, and under a government, in which the taxes were not imposed by the people themselves—but by the arbitrary power of a despot, the Emperor Nero. Certainly if, under those circumstances, it was the duty of a Christian to pay the tribute money, any effort which we make to evade it, must be additionally criminal, since we are taxed by the will of our representatives.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): It is true, we feel the pressure of the taxes as a burden…But all the functions of government also must of necessity be attended with expense, which the public of course must support. Hence there must be taxes of different kinds, some stated, as “tribute,” and some occasional, as “custom,” upon articles of commerce.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): “Tribute and custom,” These two words include all sorts of levies, taxes, subsidies.

EDWARD PAYSON: It is also evident, that the man who possesses a large share of wealth, derives greater advantages from the laws of the land, and from the protection afforded by civil authority, than the man who possesses little or nothing. Or, to place the subject in a little different light—civil governments insure to their subjects the protection of their rights and property from injustice and violence; of course, they have a right to demand a premium for this insurance. This premium ought to be greater or less, in proportion to the property thus insured; in other words, every man is bound in justice to contribute to the support of law and government, in proportion to his property.

D. L. MOODY (1837-1899): You would have found, probably, that Lot was reported to be the richest man in Sodom, and if they had to pay income tax, his would have been the highest.

EDWARD PAYSON: The man who by artifice or deceit avoids contributing in proportion to his property, is guilty of injustice and dishonesty. He not only defrauds the government, but does in effect defraud his fellow citizens; for if he contributes less than his proportion, others must contribute more to make up the deficiency.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): Most men are more concerned how to save their money than their souls.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Waste is a worse tax than the income tax.

EDWARD PAYSON: It is vain to plead, as an excuse for these things, that government may waste, or misemploy the sums, which are put into their hands. Permit me, before I dismiss this part of my subject, to express a hope, that no one will endeavour to give these remarks a political bearing.

JOHN ANGELL JAMES: The excuses usually made in justification of this practice, only serve to show how far even some good people may be imposed upon by the deceitfulness of the human heart. Every time we have made a false return on the schedule which regulates our measure of taxation; or that we have purchased knowingly a contraband article of food, beverage, or dress—we have violated the precepts of the New Testament, have brought the guilt of a complicated crime upon our conscience, and have subjected ourselves to the displeasure of God.

A. W. PINK: Christians especially should set an example as law-abiding citizens, rendering to Caesar that which he has a right to demand from his subjects. They are Divinely enjoined to “render tribute to whom tribute is due,” and thus to pay their taxes promptly and unmurmuringly.

JOHN GILL: Payment of taxes is not a mere matter of prudence, and done to avoid dangerous consequences, but it is, and ought to be, a case of conscience. “They are God’s ministers,” Romans 13:1-4. This is another reason why tribute should be paid them, not only to testify subjection to them, and keep conscience clear, but because they are called unto, and put into this high office by God; for promotion to such honour and high places comes not from east, west, north, or south; but is by the providence of God, who puts down, and sets up at pleasure; they are His vicegerents, they act under Him, are in His stead, and represent His majesty; and therefore, in some sort, what is done to them is done to Him.

 

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Hope in the Living God

Posted on April 23, 2021 by The Editor

Psalm 42:11; Daniel 6:26

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

For he is the living God, and steadfast for ever.

GEORGE MÜLLER (1805-1898): Is there ever any reason to be downcast?

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): It cannot be doubted but that temporal afflictions will produce a very great dejection of mind: for though sometimes grace will enable a person to triumph over them as of small consequence, yet more frequently our frail nature is left to feel its weakness: and the effect of grace is, to reconcile us to the dispensations of Providence, and to make them work for our good: still however, though we are saints, we cease not to be men: and it often happens, that heavy and accumulated troubles will so weaken the animal frame, as ultimately to enfeeble the mind also, and to render it susceptible of fears.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): “Why art thou disquieted within me?” This may be taken as an enquiring question: Let the cause of this uneasiness be duly weighed. Our disquietudes would in many cases vanish before a strict scrutiny into the grounds and reasons of them. “Why am I cast down? Is there a cause, a real cause?

GEORGE MÜLLER: Actually, there are two reasons, but only two. If we were still unbelievers, we would have a reason to be downcast; or if we have been converted but continue to live in sin, we are downcast as a consequence. Except for these two conditions, there is never a reason to be downcast, for everything else may be brought to God “by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,” Philippians 4:6.

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): The grand remedy for all unbelieving fears is simply to fix the eye upon the living God: thus the heart is raised above the difficulties whatever they may be.

JOHN COLLINGES (1623-1690): Consider but this—how much there is of God in the affliction. Came it not without God’s knowledge? Why art thou troubled, then? Thy Father knowing of it would have stopped its course if it had been best for thee. Came it not without His command? Why art thou troubled? It is the cup that thy Father hath given thee, and wilt thou not drink it? Is it thy Father’s will that thou shouldest suffer, and shall it be thy humour to rebel? Why dost thou murmur, as if he had done thee wrong? Is it in measure, ordered with care, by the physician’s hand? And a little draught, proportioned to thy strength; measured out according to the proportion of strength and comfort that He intends to measure thee out, to bear it withal? Why art thou cast down? Why art thou disquieted? Is the end and fruit of it but to make thee white, and purify thee? To purge thy sin past, and to prevent it for the time to come? Lift up thy head, Christian! say to thy soul, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me?” Meditate what there is of God in the cause of thy disquietments.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): If God be thine, why this dejection? God is faithful. God is love. Therefore there is room and reason for hope.

WILLIAM GURNALL (1617-1679): “Hope thou in God.” I shall show thee what a powerful influence hope hath on the Christian in affliction, and how. First, it stills and silences him under affliction. It keeps the king’s peace in the heart, which else would soon be in an uproar. A hopeless soul is clamorous: one while it charges God, another while it reviles His instruments. It cannot long rest, and no wonder, when hope is not there. Hope hath a rare art in stilling a froward spirit, when nothing else can; as the mother can make the crying child quiet by laying it to the breast, when the rod makes it cry worse. This way David took, and found it effectual; when his soul was unquiet by reason of his present affliction, he lays it to the breast of the promise: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God.” And here his soul sweetly sleeps, as the child with the breast in his mouth; and that this was his usual way, we may think by the frequent instances we find; thrice we find him taking this course in two Psalms, Psalm 42 and Psalm 43.

GEORGE MÜLLER: We find the expression “the living God ” many times in the Scriptures, and yet it is the very thing we are so prone to forget. We know it is written “the living God,” but in our daily life there is almost nothing we lose sight of as often as the fact that God is the living God. We forget that He is now exactly what He was three or four thousand years ago, that He has the same sovereign power, and that He extends the same gracious love toward those who love and serve Him. We overlook the fact that He will do for us now what He did thousands of years ago for others, simply because He is the unchanging, living God. What a great reason to confide in Him, and in our darkest moments to never lose sight of the fact that He is still, and ever will be, the living God.

JOHN WESLEY (1703-1791): The Lord—He, and He only, is the true living God, Jeremiah 10:10—Not a dull, dead, senseless God, such as the gods of the nations are; but a God of life, and power, and activity to watch over you, and work for you.

CHARLES SIMEON: Expect deliverance from Him—To what end has God given us such “exceeding great and precious promises,” 2 Peter 1:4, if we do not rest upon them, and expect their accomplishment? The refiner does not put his vessels into the furnace, to leave them there; but to take them out again when they are fitted for his use. And it is to purify us as “vessels of honour,” that God subjects us to the fiery trial. We should say therefore with Job, “When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold,” Job 23:10. It was this expectation that supported David: “I had fainted,” says he, “unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living,” Psalm 27:13.

HUDSON TAYLOR (1832-1905): There is a living God. He has spoken in His Word. He means just what He says and will do all that He has promised.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: He knows all things, and can do all things. Nothing can escape His vigilant eye; nothing is beyond His omnipotent hand. Hence, therefore, all those who can truly say, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” may add, without hesitancy or reserve, “I shall not want.” The soul that is, in truth and reality, leaning on the arm of the living God can never—shall never, want any good thing.

GEORGE MÜLLER: And through all our times of need, difficulty, and trials, we may exercise faith in the power and love of God. Put your hope in God. Please remember there is never a time when we cannot hope in God, whatever our need or however great our difficulty may be—even when our situation appears to be impossible, our work is to “hope in God.” Our hope will not be in vain, and in the Lord’s own timing, help will come.

 

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The 700th Post** – Submission to God’s Judgments

Posted on April 16, 2021 by The Editor

Leviticus 10:1-3

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): “And Aaron held his peace.” Nothing can be more emphatic and beautiful than these words. The venerable father, without murmuring or complaint, bows his head, and adores the Divine Providence in this awful dispensation.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): Much is this silence of Aaron to be applauded, whereby he confessed that his sons were slain by the just judgment of God.

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): And in what did their failure consist? Were they spurious priests? Were they mere pretenders? By no means. They were genuine sons of Aaron, true members of the priestly family—duly appointed priests…Their sin was this: “They offered strange fire before the Lord which he commanded them not.” Here was their sin. They departed in their worship from the plain word of Jehovah, who had fully and plainly instructed them as to the mode of their worship.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): It is an awful thing to introduce innovations either into the rites and ceremonies, or into the truths of the religion of Christ: he who acts thus cannot stand guiltless before his God.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): God had given repeated warning that he would punish with awful severity any willful deviations from his law, Exodus 19:22; Leviticus 8:35; Leviticus 22:9. What would have been the effect if such a flagrant violation of them, in those who were to be examples to the whole nation, were overlooked? Would not a general contempt of the divine ordinances be likely to ensue? For prevention then as well as punishment, this judgment was necessary. And the consequence of it would be, that God would henceforth be honoured as a great and terrible God, and that the whole assembly of the people would learn to tremble at His word, and to obey it without reserve.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): We may well think that when Nadab and Abihu were struck with death all about them were struck with horror. Great consternation, no doubt, seized them, and they were all full of confusion; but, whatever the rest were, Moses was composed, and knew what he said and did, not being displeased, as David was in a like case, 2 Samuel 6:8. But though it touched him in a very tender part, yet he kept possession of his own soul, and took care to keep good order and a due decorum in the sanctuary.* He endeavoured to pacify Aaron, and to keep him in a good frame under this sad dispensation. Moses was a brother that was born for adversity, and has taught us, by his example, with seasonable counsels and comforts to support the weak, and strengthen the feeble-minded.

JOHN CALVIN: Lest, therefore, Aaron should give way to such want of self-control, Moses reminds him that he must submit to the just judgment of God.

CHARLES SIMEON: The consideration suggested by Moses composed Aaron’s troubled breast. These were his own sons, just consecrated to the high office they sustained. In them he had promised himself much comfort; and had hoped, that the whole nation would receive permanent advantage from their ministrations. But in a moment he beholds all his hopes and expectations blasted. He sees his sons struck dead by the immediate hand of God, and that too in the very act of sin, as a warning to all future generations. If they had died in any other way, his grief must have been pungent beyond expression: but to see them cut off in this way, and with all their guilt upon their heads, must have been a trial almost too great for human nature to sustain.

JOHN CALVIN: Moses indicates that Aaron yielded to his admonition, and was thus restrained from complaining against God.

MATTHEW HENRY: The most effectual arguments to quiet a gracious spirit under afflictions are those that are fetched from God’s glory; this silenced Aaron. It is true he is a loser in his comforts by this severe execution, but Moses has shown him that God is a gainer in His glory, and therefore he has not a word to say against it: if God be sanctified, Aaron is satisfied. Far be it from him that he should honour his sons more than God, or wish that God’s name, or house, or law, should be exposed to reproach or contempt for the preserving of the reputation of his family. No; now, as well as in the matter of the golden calf, Levi does not “acknowledge his brethren, nor know his own children;” and therefore “they shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law,” Deuteronomy 33:9,10.

CHARLES SIMEON: Thus, however painful the stroke was to him, Aaron submitted humbly to it, because it was necessary for the public good, and conducive to the honour of his offended God. It is not improbable too that he would recollect the forbearance exercised towards him in the matter of the golden calf; and that, while he deplored the fate of his children, he magnified the mercy that had spared him.

ADAM CLARKE: Aaron was dumb [according to the original Greek]. How elegantly expressive is this of his parental affection, his deep sense of the presumption of his sons, and his submission to the justice of God! The flower and hope of his family was nipped in the bud and blasted; and while he exquisitely feels as a father, he submits without murmuring to this awful dispensation of Divine justice.

JOHN CALVIN: Wherefore, whenever our passions are too much excited, let us learn that this is the best remedy for quieting and repressing them, to submit ourselves to God, and to humble ourselves beneath his mighty hand. David invites us to this by his own example when he says, “I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because Thou didst it,” Psalm 39:9.

MATTHEW HENRY: When God corrects us or ours for sin, it is our duty to be silent under the correction, not to quarrel with God, arraign His justice, or charge Him with folly, but to acquiesce in all that God does; not only bearing, but accepting, the punishment of iniquity, and saying, as Eli, in a case not much unlike this, “It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good,” 1 Samuel 3:18. “If our children have sinned against God,” as Bildad puts the case in Job 8:4, “and he have cast them away for their transgression,” though it must needs be grievous to think that the children of our love should be the children of God’s wrath, yet we must awfully adore the divine justice, and make no exceptions against its processes.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: The answer is this: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” If the creature is to be allowed to judge the Creator, there is an end of all government in the vast universe of God. Hence, when we hear men daring to pronounce judgment upon the ways of God, and undertaking to decide what is, or what is not, fit for God to do, this grand preliminary question invariably suggests itself —“Who is to be judge?” Is man to judge God? or is God to judge man? If the former, there is no God at all; and if the latter, then man has to bow his head in reverent silence.

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*Editor’s Note: Remember that Moses was Nadab and Abihu’s uncle, and he also must have felt this judgment in a very personal way. Thus it argues very well for his own presence of mind in such a sudden and severe tragedy.

**This post marks the 700th post on the Bible Truth Chatroom Website. All previous posts are listed by category and accessible through the links on the Sitemap page.

 

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Strange Fire

Posted on April 9, 2021 by The Editor

Leviticus 9:23,24; Leviticus 10:1-3

Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): This solemn story of sin and punishment is connected with the preceding chapter by a simple “and.” Probably, therefore, Nadab and Abihu “offered strange fire,” immediately after the fire from Jehovah had consumed the appointed sacrifice. Their sin was aggravated by the time of its being committed. But a week had passed since the consecration of their father and themselves as priests. The first sacrifices had just been offered, and here, in the very blossoming time, came a vile canker.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): How ‘quickly’ Nadab and Abihu did that which the Lord “commanded them not” after the priesthood was instituted!

ALEXANDER MacLAREN: If such license in setting aside the prescriptions of the newly established sacrificial order asserted itself then, to what lengths might it not run when the first impression of sanctity and of God’s commandment had been worn by time and custom? The sin was further aggravated by the sinners being priests, who were doubly obliged to punctilious adherence to the instituted ritual.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): By their example, they encouraged the people to disregard the laws that had been promulged; and God, by executing judgment on the offenders, showed the whole nation—yea, the whole world also, that “He will by no means clear the guilty.”

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Since He was not glorified by them before the people in the way of their duty, He would glorify Himself in their punishment.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): But what was their sin?

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Nadab and Abihu appear to have entered into the Presence of God wrongfully. They had probably been drinking, for there was a command given afterwards, Leviticus 10:9, that no priest should drink wine or strong drink when he went into the House of the Lord.

ALEXANDER MacLAREN: It was the fire which was wrong. Plainly, the narrative points to the essence of the crime in calling it “fire which He had not commanded.”

THOMAS GOODWIN (1600-1679): By His command, only fire from the altar should have been offered which originally came down from heaven.

JOHN GILL: This fire was not that which came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, as at the end of the preceding chapter, but common fire, and therefore called strange.

ALEXANDER MacLAREN: What was their sin in thus offering it?

MATTHEW HENRY: The priests were to burn incense only when it was their lot, Luke 1:9, and, at this time, it was not theirs.

CHARLES SIMEON: It would seem that they were elated with the distinction conferred upon them, and impatient to display the high privileges they enjoyed. Hence, without waiting for the proper season of burning incense, or considering in what manner God had commanded it to be done, they both together took their censers—though only one was ever so to officiate at a time, and put common fire upon them, and went in to burn incense before the Lord.

ALEXANDER MacLAREN: So this was their crime, that they were tampering with the appointed order which but a week before they had been consecrated to conserve and administer; that they were thus thrusting in self-will and personal caprice, as of equal authority with the divine commandment.

THOMAS GOODWIN: It was a transgression in bringing in, or continuing to use, such human inventions in worship as God had not commanded, and justifying such to be warrantable.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): “This is it that the Lord spake.” Where? and when?

MATTHEW HENRY: Where did God speak this? We do not find the very words; but to this purpose He had said, “Let the priests who come near to the Lord sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them,” Exodus 19:22. Indeed the whole scope and tenor of His law spoke this, that being a holy God, and a sovereign Lord, He must always be worshiped with holiness and reverence, and exactly according to His own appointment; and if any jest with Him, it is at their peril. Much had been said to this purpose, as in Exodus 29:43,44; Exodus 34:14; Leviticus 8:35. What was it that God spoke? It was this: “I will be sanctified in those that come nigh me—whoever they are, and, before all the people I will be glorified.”

A. W. PINK: Now, have these unspeakably solemn incidents no message for us today?

MATTHEW HENRY: Whenever we worship God, we come nigh unto Him as spiritual priests. This consideration ought to make us very reverent and serious in all acts of devotion, when we approach God and present ourselves before Him. It concerns us all, when we come nigh to God, to sanctify Him, that is, to give Him the praise of His holiness, to perform every religious exercise as those who believe that the God with whom we have to do is a holy God, a God of spotless purity and transcendent perfection, Isaiah 8:13. When we sanctify God we glorify Him, for His holiness is His glory; and, when we sanctify Him in our solemn assemblies, we glorify Him before all the people, confessing our own belief of His glory and desiring that others also may be affected with it.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): A learned writer explains “that Moses gives to the fire, of which the two sons of Aaron made use, the direct name of fire without any qualification; not calling it strange fire till after he had said that they put incense thereon: so that, considering the mode of expression he uses, it seems as if the fire which Nadab and Abihu employed was not in itself a strange fire, and only became such when they had cast the incense upon it.”

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): Nothing could be permitted to ascend from the priestly censer but the pure fire, kindled from off the altar of God, and fed by the “pure incense beaten small,” Leviticus 16:12.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): What is it to offer strange fire before the LORD, but to offer anything of our own, and not with an eye to Jesus, when we come before the LORD? In Exodus 30:9, mention is made of the prohibition of “strange incense” being offered before the LORD. And as incense is generally understood to have reference to the merits of Christ, why may not the sacred fire be supposed to have reference also to the person or oblation of the Lord Jesus?

JOHN GILL: “Strange fire” may be an emblem of dissembled love, such as when a man performs religious duties, prays to God, or praises Him without any cordial affection to Him, or obeys commands not from love, but selfish views; or of an ignorant, false, and misguided zeal, a zeal not according to knowledge, superstitious and hypocritical; or of false and strange doctrines, such as are not of God, nor agree with the voice of Christ, and are foreign to the Scriptures; or of human ordinances, and the inventions of men.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): How greatly God abominates all the sins whereby the purity of religion is corrupted.

C. H. MACKINTOSH: Very much of that which passes among men for the worship of God is but “strange fire” after all…The time, however, is rapidly approaching when the strange fire will be quenched for ever, when the throne of God shall no longer be insulted by clouds of impure incense ascending from unpurged worshippers; when all that is spurious shall be abolished.

 

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An Easter Springtime

Posted on April 2, 2021 by The Editor

John 11:25,26; Colossians 3:4; Romans 13:11,12

I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Christ was crucified on the fourteenth of Nissan, or about the beginning of April. It was the first of Israel’s great national feasts—the most important season in the Jewish year. It was the Passover, when solemn celebration was made of that night when all the firstborn sons of the Hebrews were spared from the angel of death in the land of Egypt.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): The Chaldees call this month Abib, from the new fruits or ears of grain then first appearing. It was the first month unto Israel, in respect of sacred, not civil affairs, because of their coming out of Egypt therein. It answereth to part of March with us, and part of April.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): It seems to me that spring reads to us a most excellent discourse upon the grand doctrine of revelation. This very month of April, which, if it is not the very entrance of spring, yet certainly introduces us to the fullness of it. This very month—bearing by its [Latin] name the title of the ‘opening’ month, speaks to us of the resurrection. As we have walked through our gardens, fields and woods, we have seen the flower buds ready to burst upon the trees and the buried flowers starting up from the sod; and they have spoken to us with sweet voices, the words, “You, too, shall rise again. You, too, shall be buried in the earth like seeds that are lost in winter, but you shall rise again and you shall live and blossom in eternal spring.”*

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): The resurrection of Jesus is the support and comfort of the dying believer; for if we have been planted with Him in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: as members of His body, because He lives, we shall live also.

MARTIN LUTHER (1483-1546): About the time of Easter in April, Pharaoh was swallowed up in the Red Sea, and the nation of Israel delivered from Egypt—and at the same time Christ rose again to renew the world. Perchance the last day will come about the same time.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): There is a certain series in the works of providence, as there is in the works of nature. The signs of the times are compared with the prognostics of “the face of the sky,” Matthew 16:3. So here, with those of the face of the earth, Matthew 24:32; when that is renewed, we foresee that summer is coming, not immediately, but at some distance; after “the branch grows tender,” we expect the March winds, and the April showers, before the summer comes; however, we are sure it is coming; “so likewise ye, when the gospel day shall dawn, count upon it, that through this variety of events which I have told you of, the perfect day will come.” “The things revealed must shortly come to pass,” Revelation 1:1; they must come in their own order, in the order appointed for them. “Know that it is near.”

MARTIN LUTHER: I am of the opinion it will be about Easter, when the year is finest and fairest, and early in the morning, at sunrise, as at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The elements will be gloomy with earthquakes and thunderings about an hour or a little longer, and the secure people will say: “Pish, thou fool, hast thou never heard it thunder?”

J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): The days of Noah are the true type of the days when Christ shall return, Matthew 24:37,38. When the flood came, men were found “eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage,” absorbed in their worldly pursuits, and utterly regardless of Noah’s repeated warnings. They saw no likelihood of a flood. They would not believe there was any danger. But at last the flood came suddenly and “took them all away.” All that were not with Noah in the ark were drowned. They were all swept away to their last account, unpardoned, unconverted, and unprepared to meet God. And our Lord says, “so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

MARTIN LUTHER: The Christians and the righteous shall ascend upward into heaven, and there live everlastingly, but the wicked and the ungodly, as the dross and filth, shall remain.*

J. C. RYLE: “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh,” Matthew 24:44. Let us mark this text, and store it up in our minds.

THOMAS COKE: We too shall have our spring-time of resurrection.*

JOHN TRAPP: At that day of “Revelation,” as it is called, “we must all appear,”—or be made transparent, translucent, like a perfectly transparent body, as the word there signifies—before the judgment seat of Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:10; and all shall be laid naked and open, the books of God’s omniscience and man’s conscience also shall be then opened, and secret sins shall be as legible in thy forehead as if written with the brightest stars or the most glittering sunbeams upon a wall of crystal. Men’s actions are all in print in heaven, and God will at that day read them aloud in the ears of all the world. “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil,” Ecclesiastes 12:14. Then it shall appear what it is, which before was not so clear; like as in April both wholesome roots and poisonable reveal themselves, which in winter were not seen. Then men shall give an account, of good things committed unto them; of good things neglected by them; of evils committed by them; and lastly, of evils done by others, suffered by them when they might have hindered it.

WILLIAM PRINGLE (1790-1858): Moreover, know the time, that it is even now the very time for us to awake from sleep; for nearer now is our salvation than when we believed: the night has advanced, and the day has approached; let us then cast away the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light; let us, as in the day, walk in a becoming manner.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): This is the current language and sense of our Lord and His apostles. They represent his coming as “at hand,” as “drawing nigh,”—and admonish their hearers to “watch,” lest His coming should find them unprepared.

J. C. RYLE: Millions of professing Christians will be found thoughtless, unbelieving, Godless, Christless, worldly, and unfit to meet their Judge. Let us take heed that we are not found amongst them.*

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*Editor’s Note: For true believers in Jesus, the Day of His coming in power and glory will be one of great joy. But not for unbelievers, no matter what they may call themselves. An old preacher once said that the Sadducees were “sad, you see,” because they did not believe in the resurrection, and thus had no hope. How much greater will be the sadness of unbelievers, when they must face the true reality of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, and hear His judgment of eternal doom upon them.

 

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Jesus Christ’s Way of Dealing With Persecution

Posted on March 26, 2021 by The Editor

Hebrews 12:3; 1 Peter 2:19-24

Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): It is here taken for granted that persons in every age will be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. And the whole history of mankind fully justifies this assumption: for from the time of Abel to the present hour it has been verified. The lovers of darkness hate the light; and will endeavour, when it lies in their power, to extinguish it, John 3:19. The whole life of David tends to illustrate this: “They that render evil for good are mine adversaries,” says he; “because I follow the thing that good is,” Psalm 38:20. And what shall I say of Him who was greater than David, even the Son of God Himself?

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): What trials Christ met with in His race and course! He “endured the contradiction of sinners against himself;” He bore the opposition that they made to Him, both in their words and behaviour. They were continually contradicting Him, and crossing in upon His great designs.

CHARLES SIMEON: Consider the unreasonableness with which He was opposed, when, notwithstanding the myriads of miracles that He wrought, His enemies were continually demanding more signs, and pretending a want of evidence as the ground of their unbelief. Consider the obstinacy with which He was rejected, when His victory over the devils was ascribed to a confederacy with them…Consider the malice with which He was persecuted. Incessantly did His enemies labour to ensnare him, and seek to take away His life. And, when they had a prospect of effecting their purpose, there was no method, however infamous, which they did not use to accomplish their wishes. With what inveteracy did they suborn false witnesses; and, on the failure of that device, compel the judge by clamours and menaces, to give sentence against him! Consider the cruelty with which He was put to death. They might, one would have thought, have been satisfied with seeing His back torn, and even ploughed up, with scourges: but their cruelty was insatiable; for, even when He was nailed to the accursed tree, they ceased not to mock and insult Him, and to add by their indignities a tenfold poignancy to all His anguish.

MATTHEW HENRY: Yet He endured their evil manners with great patience.

CHARLES SIMEON: Surely His wisdom precluded a possibility of any fault being found with Him; whilst His goodness suppressed, in every bosom, a disposition to find fault. But on the contrary, in proportion to His superiority above all the sons of men, was the inveterate obstinacy of the carnal mind against Him. Can we, then, hope to escape their malignity? No; The disciple cannot be above his Master, or the servant above his Lord: if they have hated Him, they will hate us also, Matthew 10:24; John 15:18. We, like Him, must have our cross to bear and “all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution,” 2 Timothy 3:12.

MATTHEW HENRY: Christians are a sort of people “called to be sufferers,” and therefore they must expect it; by the terms of Christianity they are bound to deny themselves, and take up the cross.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): Our troubles are but as the slivers and chips of His cross.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): If the Son of God, whom it behoves all to adore, willingly underwent such severe conflicts, who of us should dare to refuse to submit with Him to the same? For this one thought alone ought to be sufficient to conquer all temptations, that is, when we know that we are companions or associates of the Son of God, and that He, who was so far above us, willingly came down to our condition, in order that He might animate us by His own example; yea, it is thus that we gather courage, which would otherwise melt away, and turn as it were into despair.

JOHN OWEN (1616-1683): And this I judge to be the frame of mind here cautioned against by the apostle, namely, the want of life, vigour, and cheerfulness in profession, tending unto a relinquishment of it…When we begin to be heartless, desponding, and weary of our sufferings, it is a dangerous disposition of mind, towards a defection from the gospel. So it hath been with many, who at first vigorously engaged in profession, but have been wrought over unto a conformity with the world, by a weariness of their trials. And we ought to watch against nothing more diligently than the insensible, gradual prevailing of such a frame in us, if we intend to be faithful unto the end. There is the way whereby we fall into this dangerous condition—it is by “fainting in our minds.”

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): What is the remedy? True heart-devotedness to, and fellowship with, a rejected and glorified Christ.

MATTHEW HENRY: The best way to prevent this is to look unto Jesus, and to consider Him. Faith and meditation will fetch in fresh supplies of strength, comfort, and courage; for He has assured them, if they suffer with him, they shall also reign with him,” 2 Timothy 2:12. And this hope will be their helmet.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): Attentively observe and analyze every part of His conduct, enter into His Spirit, examine His motives and object. And remember that, as He acted, ye are called to act.

MATTHEW HENRY: The example of Christ’s subjection and patience is here explained and amplified: Christ suffered, wrongfully, and without cause; for he “did no sin,” 1 Peter 2:2; He had done no violence, no injustice or wrong to any one—He wrought no iniquity of any sort whatever; “neither was guile found in his mouth;” His words, as well as His actions, were all sincere, just, and right. “When he was reviled, he reviled not again;” when they blasphemed Him, mocked Him, called Him foul names, He was “dumb, and opened not his mouth,” Isaiah 53:7.  When they went further, to real injuries—beating, buffeting, and crowning Him with thorns, “he threatened not;” but committed both Himself and His cause “to God that judgeth righteously,” who would in time clear His innocence, and avenge Him on His enemies. Learn, our Blessed Redeemer was perfectly holy, and so free from sin that no temptation, no provocation whatsoever, could extort from Him so much as the least sinful or indecent word. Provocations to sin can never justify the commission of it. The rudeness, cruelty, and injustice of enemies, will not justify Christians in reviling and revenge.

ADAM CLARKE: He bore a continual opposition of sinners against Himself, but He conquered by meekness, patience, and perseverance.

JOHN CALVIN: Christ will not be less strong and invincible in us also, if, conscious of our own weakness, we place reliance upon His power alone.

ADAM CLARKE: If ye trust in Him, ye shall receive strength; therefore, howsoever great your opposition may be, ye shall not be weary: if ye confide in and attentively look to Him, ye shall have continual courage to go on, and never “faint in your minds”—He will furnish you with the same Spirit, and will support you with the same strength.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): What a spur this is, under God’s grace, to encourage the redeemed of the Lord to live an holy life?

 

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True Repentance in Prose & Poetry

Posted on March 19, 2021 by The Editor

Luke 18:13; 2 Samuel 24:10; Job 42:1-6

The publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): We never begin to be good till we can feel and say that we are bad…He that has learned to feel his sins has great reason to be thankful. We are never in the way of salvation until we know that we are lost, ruined, guilty, and helpless.

DUTCH PSALTER 140 (Psalm 51): I am evil, born in sin;

                                                                    Thou desirest truth within.

                                                                    Thou alone my Saviour art,

                                                                 Teach Thy wisdom to my heart;

                                                                Make me pure, Thy grace bestow,

                                                                  Wash me whiter that the snow.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Job was high in his own esteem before he saw God; but after he had seen God, his sentiments were wholly changed. Job expressly declares that his repentance was the result of the discovery afforded him.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): Nothing can display more fully the state of a true penitent before the LORD. In the expressions Job makes use of, the very inside of his heart seems to be turned out to view. Self loathing, and self-abhorring, are among the highest tokens of the real contrition which passed within.

CHARLES SIMEON: The experience of every Christian accords with this. Nothing shows us the aggravations of our sins so much as a view of Him against whom they have been committed. Our contrition will ever be proportioned to our views of Christ. They will cause us to abhor ourselves in dust and ashes. While we know but little of God, we see but little of our own corruptions; but as we become more enlightened, we learn to loathe and abhor ourselves. Even Job, holy as he was, found this effect from his views of God. Paul also, notwithstanding all his integrity, was brought to this by a sight of Jesus Christ. The same cause will produce the same effect in all.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Like the Apostle Paul, they will count themselves the “chief of sinners.”

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): The more we see of the glory and majesty of God, and the more we see of the vileness and odiousness of sin, and of ourselves because of sin, the more we shall abase and abhor ourselves for it. Self-loathing is evermore the companion of true repentance. “They shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed,” Ezekiel 6:9.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): Impressed with a deep sense of his sins, the publican appeared so vile in his own sight, that he would not go up among the people of God, but stood afar off, in the court of the Gentiles, perhaps without the stone wall, called by the apostle the middle wall of partition, which the Gentiles and unclean Israelites were not permitted to pass.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): Not because he was a heathen, and dared not approach the holy place—for it is likely he was a Jew—but because he was a true penitent, and felt himself utterly unworthy to appear before God.

THOMAS COKE: With eyes fixed on the ground, smiting on his breast, he by that action made a public acknowledgment of his great transgressions before all who were in sight of him, and, in the bitterness of his soul, earnestly cried for mercy.

J. C. RYLE: It was a humble prayer—a prayer which put self in the right place. The Publican confessed plainly that he was “a sinner.” This is the very A B C of saving Christianity.

C. H. SPURGEON: “The sinner” it should be; it is so emphatically in the Greek…He does not describe himself as a penitent sinner, or as a praying sinner, but simply as a sinner, and as a sinner he goes to God asking for mercy.

J. C. RYLE: It was a prayer in which mercy was the chief thing desired, and faith in God’s covenant mercy, however weak, was displayed. Mercy is the first thing we must ask for in the day we begin to pray. Mercy and grace must be the subject of our daily petitions at the throne of grace till the day we die.

MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): Thereby instructing us how to make our applications to God, disclaiming any goodness or righteousness in ourselves, and fleeing to the alone merits of Christ, and the free grace of God in and through Him.

DUTCH PSALTER 140 (Psalm 51): God be merciful to me

                                                                   On Thy grace I rest my plea;

                                                                 Plenteous in compassion Thou,

                                                                Blot out my transgressions now;

                                                                Wash me, make me pure within,

                                                              Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): The Publican prayed much, though he spoke little.

C. H. SPURGEON: Our English version of the Bible does not give the full meaning of the publican’s prayer; it is, “God be propitious to me,” that is, “be gracious to me through the ordained sacrifice;” and that is one of the points of the prayer that made it so acceptable to God. There is a mention of the atonement in it, there is a pleading of the sacrificial blood. It was a real prayer, and an acceptable prayer.

J. C. RYLE: His prayer was one which came from his heart. He was deeply moved in uttering it.

JOHN TRAPP: “And David’s heart smote him after he had numbered the people.” David’s heart had prompted him to this sin…Now the same heart smote him with a sense of guilt, and a fear of wrath.

MATTHEW POOLE: His conscience discerned his sin, and he was heartily sorry for it.

JOHN TRAPP: A stroke on the heart we know is deadly: so had this been to David, but that he confessed and forsook his sin, and so found mercy. “I have sinned greatly.” He confessed not slightly, but with the greatest aggravation: “For I have done very foolishly.”

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): All sin is folly, and some sins are exceeding foolish, and so this appeared to David; or, “though I have done very foolishly, yet forgive my sin.”

DUTCH PSALTER 140 (Psalm 51): My transgressions I confess,

                                                                     Grief and guilt my soul oppress;

                                                                     I have sinned against Thy grace

                                                                     And provoked Thee to Thy face;

                                                                        I confess Thy judgment just,

                                                                      Speechless, I Thy mercy trust.

                                                                        Broken, humbled to the dust,

                                                                     By Thy wrath and judgment just,

                                                                        Let my contrite heart rejoice

                                                                      And in gladness hear Thy voice;

                                                                       From my sins O hide Thy face,

                                                                     Blot them out in boundless grace.

JOHN GILL: “And now I beseech thee, Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant.” Take away the guilt of it from his conscience, which lay heavy there, and suffer not the punishment it deserves to take place on him, but grant an application of pardon to him.

J. C. RYLE: Such prayers are the prayers which are God’s delight. “A broken and a contrite heart,” He will not despise, Psalm 51:17.

CHARLES SIMEON:  Fear not, but that they who trust in God’s mercy shall find mercy at His hands. Let that faithful saying of the Apostle Paul’s sink deep into your hearts, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief,” 1 Timothy 1:15. Look truly to the Saviour—and to every believing penitent Jesus speaks as He did of that repenting Publican: “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified,” Luke 18:14.

 

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