Oct 10
27
John Gill
“This word of God has been quick and powerful, sharper than a
two edged sword; it has pierced and penetrated into the recesses
of the heart, and laid open the secrets of it; it has been the means
of enlightening the mind, bringing life to the soul, regenerating
and sanctifying the heart, and of producing faith, and every
other grace in it, and of strengthening, comforting, and reviving
the spirits of the people of God when in distress, by afflictions,
or Satan’s temptations; so every true believer has a testimony
within himself of it’s divine authority.” 1 John 5:9-10
John 5:9 a.If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of
God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that b.He has
testified concerning His Son.
1John 5:10 The one who believes in the Son of God a.has the
testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has
b.made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony
that God has given concerning His Son.
The Bible
It is the first book and the best book and the oldest book in all
the world. It contains the choicest matter, gives the best
instruction, and affords the greatest pleasure and satisfaction
that was ever revealed. It contains the best laws and
profoundest mysteries that were ever penned. It brings the best
of tidings, and affords the best of comfort, to the enquiring, and
disconsolate. It exhibits life and immortality from everlasting,
and shows the Way to eternal glory. It is a brief recital of all that
has passed and a certain prediction of all that is to come. It
settles all matters of debate, resolves all doubts and eases the
mind and conscience of all their scruples. It reveals the only
living and true God, and shows the way to him: it sets aside all
other gods, and describes the vanity of them, and of all who
trust in them. In short, it is a book of law, to show right from
wrong, a book of wisdom, that condemns all folly, and makes
the foolish wise; a book of truth, that detects all lies, and
confutes all errors; and a book of life that gives life, and shows
the way from everlasting death…. It is a complete code of laws, a perfect body of divinity, an unequalled
narrative, a book of lives, a book of travels, a book of voyages. It is the
best covenant that was ever agreed upon, and the best deed that ever
was sealed, the best evidence that was ever produced, the best will that
was ever made, the best testament that was ever signed. To understand
it is to be wise indeed, to be ignorant of it, is to be destitute of
wisdom……
And that which crowns it all is, that the Author is without partiality,
and without hypocrisy; in whom there is no variableness, or shadow of
turning.”
William Huntington
God’s promises!
from Spurgeon’s sermon, “Three Precious Things” #931
“…He has given us His very great and precious promises…”
2 Peter 1:4
God’s promises are precious because they tell of
exceeding great and precious things. We have
promises in the Bible which time would fail us to
repeat, which for breadth and length are immeasurable.
They deal with every great thing which the soul can need:
promises of pardoned sin,
promises of sanctification,
promises of teaching,
promises of guidance,
promises of upholding,
promises of ennobling,
promises of progress,
promises of consolation, and
promises of perfection.
In this blessed book you have….
promises of the daily bread of earth;
promises of the bread of life from heaven;
promises for time;
promises for eternity. You have so many promises, that all the
conditions and positions of the believer are
met. I sometimes liken the promises to the
locksmith’s great bunch of keys, which he brings
when you have lost the key of your treasure chest,
and cannot unlock it. He feels pretty sure that out
of all the keys upon the ring some one or other
will fit, and he tries them with patient industry.
At last! yes! that is it, he has moved the bolt,
and you can get at your treasures!
There is always a promise in the volume of
inspiration suitable to your present case.
Make the Lord’s promises your delight and your
counsellors, and they will befriend you at every turn.
Search the Scriptures, and you shall meet with a
promise, which will be so applicable to you as to
appear to have been written after your trouble
had occurred! So exactly will it apply, that you
will be compelled to marvel at the wonderful
tenderness and suitableness of it.
As if the tailor had measured you from head to foot,
so exactly shall the garment of the promise befit you.
The promises are precious in themselves….
from their suitability to us,
from their coming from God,
from their being immutable,
from their being sure of performance, and
from their containing wrapped up within themselves all that the
children of God can ever need.
“…He has given us His very great and precious promises…”
2 Peter 1:4
This life is a life of faith, for God will try the truth of our
faith, so that the world may see that God has such servants
as will depend upon His bare word; it were nothing to be a
Christian if we should see all here; but God will have His
children to live by faith, and take the promise upon His
word. Richard Sibbes
Christ is our pattern whom we must strive to imitate; it is
necessary that our pattern should be exact so that we might
see our imperfections and be humbled for them, and live by
faith for our sanctification.
Richard Sibbes
A life-giving stream for parched pilgrims!
(Arthur Pink, “The Word of Grace”)
The Word and the Spirit are so intimately conjoined, that we are scarcely
warranted in thinking of the one, without the other. The Word does not
operate without the Spirit’s agency—and the Spirit does not work apart
from the Word.
*It was by the Spirit’s inspiration, that the Word was first given, for
“holy men of God spoke, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2
Peter 1:21).
*It is by the Spirit, that we are enlightened (Eph 1:17, 18), yet the Word
is the means He employs.
*It is by the Spirit, that we are sanctified (Rom 15:16), yet not apart
from the Truth (John 17:17).
*It is by the Spirit, that we are strengthened (Eph 3:16) as He causes
the Word to dwell in us richly (Col 3:16).
*It is by the Spirit, that we are comforted (Acts 9:31) as He applies the
Divine promises to our hearts.
How appropriate, then, that the grand instrument employed by the Spirit
of grace, should be termed “the Word of His grace.”
The “Word of His grace” proclaims . . .
rest for the weary, pardon to the guilty, justification to the ungodly,
adoption to the outcast, eternal heavenly treasures for spiritual paupers!
It is “the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind” who are to be called to
the feast which free grace has spread! (Luke 14:13)
“The Word of His grace” not only instructs us where grace is to be
found, and how further supplies of it are to be obtained—but it is the
principal medium through which grace is actually imparted to the soul.
It is a life-giving stream for parched pilgrims—as they journey
through this “wilderness of sin.”
As its sacred pages are reverently perused—
the mind is instructed, the conscience is enlightened, the affections are
warmed, and the will is moved.
As its exceeding great and precious promises are meditated upon and
treasured up in the heart—new strength is imparted to the soul.
As its holy precepts are turned into earnest prayer—help is obtained
for the discharge of duty.
As its timely warnings and admonitions are heeded—temptations
lose their power and the snares of Satan are avoided.
As its cheering revelation of what God has prepared for those who
love Him is received by faith—new hope is kindled in the heart, and
the trials of life are borne with greater fortitude. And as the end of
the journey is neared—death loses its terrors and the call to leave this
“valley of tears” becomes more desirable.
Without “the Word of His grace” we would be mariners upon the sea of
life—without chart or compass!