Dec 14
20
When the Holy Spirit preaches the gospel
(J. C. Philpot)
We often know the theory of the gospel,
before we know the experience of the gospel.
We often receive the doctrines of grace into
our judgment, before we receive the grace of
the doctrines into our soul.
We therefore need to be . . .
brought down,
humbled,
tried,
stripped of every prop;
that the gospel may be to us . . .
more than a sound,
more than a name,
more than a theory,
more than a doctrine,
more than a system,
more than a creed;
that it may be . . .
soul enjoyment,
soul blessing,
and soul salvation.
When the Holy Spirit preaches the gospel
to the poor in spirit, the humbled, stripped,
and tried–it is a gospel of glad tidings indeed
to the sinner’s broken heart.
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
counselors, 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
Christ is Our Peace
James Smith, 1842
“He is our peace.” Ephesians 2:14
It is a matter of infinite consequence . . .
to be at peace with God, and to walk with Him in a state of reconciliation;
to know that there is nothing in the divine mind against us — but that all condemnation is removed from us;
to see God in Christ smiling upon us, and to know that He orders all His dispensations in reference to us for our good.
Nothing on earth can exceed the blessedness of such a happy believer; he . . .
is at peace with God,
has peace in His own conscience,
and shall enjoy peace forever.
He sees that His peace was planned in the everlasting covenant, between the Glorious Three; in consequence of which it is now called “A covenant of peace.” Isaiah 54:10. He knows that peace was predicted and promised, because the God-man stood engaged to make it; and that, at the incarnation of Immanuel, the angels sang, “Peace on earth, good will toward men.” He believes that the labors of the Redeemer’s life, and the agonies of His death — were to make peace on honorable terms, and to base it on an immutable foundation. He hears the gospel as the good news of peace and reconciliation, and rejoices that Jesus now, by His gospel, preaches peace to them who were afar off, and to those who were near. He experiences the operations of the Holy Spirit in His heart, leading him to . . .
the blood of atonement,
the testimony of God, and
the throne of grace for peace.
He realizes the blessedness of receiving peace from Jesus as a gift, and finding it surround his soul as a sacred guard to keep him, Philippians 4:7. He looks for peace in Jesus and from Jesus; not from his duties, experience, or labors; and triumphs in this, “He is our peace.”
And now, children of my God, let me exhort you, at all times — to look to Jesus as your peace. He has made peace by the blood of His cross; and every poor believer, however tried, tempted, troubled, or perplexed — is at peace with God, through Him; though all do not enjoy it.
Should sickness seize your frame, and lay you on a bed of languishing — then look to Jesus as your peace.
Should Satan beset you with his soul-distressing temptations and fiery darts — still view Jesus as your peace.
Should you be left to pace the barren wilderness of desertion, where only briars and thorns appear to grow — still hold this fast, Jesus is my peace.
Should persecution light its fires or brandish its weapons of war — still Jesus is your peace.
Should trials in the family, the business, or the church of God, press you down — yet remember Jesus is your peace.
Oh, never forget this soul-supporting, heart-cheering truth, “This man shall be the peace!” Micah 5:5. And when death shall come to visit you at the command of Jesus, (and remember it is at the command of your loving, tender, compassionate Jesus, that he does come,) still look to this, “He is my peace;” not my attainments, not my comfort, not my duties — but Jesus is my peace. He made it, secured it, revealed it, bestowed it, confirms it, and gives it — and He shall be glorified for it. Nothing can possibly destroy it, unless it can . . .
undo His work,
revoke His promise,
and change His changeless mind.
Consider, believer, if you are at peace with God — you have no real cause to fear; nothing shall by any means hurt you. God being at peace with you, angels attend upon you, and all the dispensations of Divine providence, and the designs of Satan — are made to subserve this glorious purpose of our God. “All things work together for your good!” Rejoice then in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice! Rejoice in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh. You shall enter into peace, you shall rest in your beds, each one walking in His uprightness. Isaiah 57:2. Look, look then, for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Jesus, whose blood so freely streamed,
To satisfy the law’s demand;
By You from guilt and wrath redeemed,
Before the Father’s face I stand.
No drop remains of all the curse,
For wretches who deserved the whole;
No arrows dipped in wrath, to pierce
The guilty — but returning soul.
Peace by such means so dearly bought,
What rebel could have hoped to see
Peace by His injured Sovereign wrought,
His Sovereign fastened to the tree!
Let foes in horrid league agree!
They may assault, they may distress;
But cannot quench Your love to me,
Nor rob me of the Lord, My Peace.
THE LORD HIMSELF SHALL GIVE YOU A SIGN
Isaiah 7: 14: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
When Christ walked this earth, Pharisee’s came to him saying, “Master, we would see a sign from thee.” (Mt 12: 38) But Christ would not give them their request. Why? Years before, through the prophet Isaiah, the LORD told king Ahaz to ask for a sign. Under pretense of piety, Ahaz refused. Isaiah declared, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.”
When the virgin conceived, it was the Lord himself giving you a sign that he is the Seed of woman which was promised in the garden. (Gen 3: 15; Jer 31: 22; Mt 1: 18-20) His being conceived of the Holy Ghost, rather than of the corrupt seed of man, was the Lord himself giving you a sign that he is the only holy Man ever born; thus he was fit to lay down his life in place of his sinful brethren. (Lu 1: 35; Heb 2: 14) By commanding his name be called Immanuel, it was the Lord himself giving you a sign that he is God with us, providing himself a Lamb. (Gen 22: 8; 2 Cor 5: 19) When he ascended, after three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, it was the Lord himself giving you a sign that he is both, just and the Justifier of him which believes in Jesus. (Mt 12: 39-40; Rom 3: 26)
The Lord gave the Pharisee’s no other sign, because Christ is himself the sign. Ahaz’s refusal of the Sign, as well as the Pharisee’s request for another, were rejections of Christ himself. Left to ourselves, every sinner will do the same. Then how shall each of God’s elect be brought to believe? “The Lord himself shall give you a Sign.” Clay Curtis
THE WONDER OF ANGELS!
Spurgeon, “Christ’s Incarnation, the Foundation of Christianity”
How surprised the ANGELS must have been when they were
first informed that Jesus Christ, the Prince of life,
intended to shroud Himself in clay, and become a human
babe, and live and die upon the earth!
We don’t know how the information was first communicated
to the angels; but when the rumor began to circulate among
the shining hosts, we may imagine what strange wonderment
there was in their lofty minds.
What! was it true that HE, whose crown was all
bejewelled with stars, would lay that crown aside?
What! was it certain that HE, about whose shoulders
was cast the purple robe of universal sovereignty,
would become a man, dressed in a peasant’s garment?
Could it be true that HE, who was everlasting
and immortal, would one day be nailed to a cross?!
How their wonderment must have increased as the details
of the Savior’s life and death were made known to them.
Well might they desire to “look into” these things,
which were so surprising and mysterious to them.
And when He descended from on high, they followed Him;
for Jesus was “seen of angels,” and seen in a very special
sense; for they looked upon Him in rapturous amazement,
wondering what it could mean when He, “who was RICH,
for our sakes became POOR.”
Do you see Him as, on that day of Heaven’s eclipse,
He did, as it were, ungird Himself of His majesty?
Can you conceive the increasing wonder of the heavenly
hosts when the great deed was actually done, when they saw
His priceless tiara taken off, when they watched Him unbind
His girdle of stars, and cast away His sandals of gold?
Can you conceive what must have been the astonishment of the
angels when He said to them, “I do not disdain the womb of
the virgin; I am going down to earth to become a man”?
And now wonder, you angels, as you see
that THE INFINITE HAS BECOME AN INFANT!
He, upon whose shoulders the universe does hang,
hangs at His mother’s breast!
He, who created all things by the word of His power, and
who bears up the pillars of creation, has now become so
weak that He must be carried in the arms of a woman!
Wonder, you angels that knew Him in His RICHES,
while you behold Him in His POVERTY!
Where SLEEPS the newborn King?
Has He the best room in Caesar’s palace? Has a cradle of
gold been prepared for Him, and pillows of down, on which
to rest His head? No! in the dilapidated stable where the
oxen stood, and in the manger where they fed- there the
Savior lies, swathed in the swaddling bands of the children
of poverty!
Nor does He rest long there; on a sudden, His mother must
carry Him to Egypt; He must go there, and become a stranger
in a strange land. When He came back, and grew up at Nazareth,
the angels must have marveled to see HIM THAT MADE THE WORLDS
handle the hammer and the nails, assisting His reputed father
in the trade of a carpenter!