Nov 22
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Luxuriating forever! (from Winslow’s, “The Glory of Christ in Heaven”) Beloved, the Lord Jesus intends that His people shall be near unto Him in heaven. His satisfaction of soul will not be complete until He clusters around Him in glory all for whom His soul travailed in suffering on earth. Nothing shall separate Him from His people! Not a jewel from His crown, not a lamb from the fold, shall be missing from the Father’s house! You will drink of the pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb! You will eat of the fruit of the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God, yielding its fruit every month! You will…. behold Christ in His glory, enjoy God forever, be perfected in purity, and swim in the ocean of infinite and eternal blessedness! There Jesus will take you, dear saints of God. And there shall be…. no more exile, no more sorrow, no more neediness, no more parting, no more sickness, no more death, and no more sin. You will be luxuriating forever amid the glories and plenitude of the new Jerusalem! |
There is a holy God whom I cannot please, but Christ did.
There is a holy law I cannot keep, but Christ did.
There is a perfect righteousness that I cannot earn, but Christ did.
There is a convicting record of sin that I cannot erase, but Christ did.
There is great judgement that I cannot endure, but Christ did.
There is an eternal death that I cannot rise from, but Christ did.
And if He has made Himself to be my all in all He will raise me up at the last day.
Anon
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THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT Spurgeon, “Gleanings Among the Sheaves” Let us ever remember that Christ on the cross is of no value to us, apart from the Holy Spirit in us. In vain that blood is flowing, unless the finger of the Spirit applies the blood to our conscience; in vain is that garment of righteousness wrought out, unless the Holy Spirit wraps it around us and arrays us in its costly folds. The river of the water of life cannot quench our thirst, till the Spirit presents the goblet and lifts it to our lips. All the things which are in the paradise of God could never be blissful to us, so long as we are dead souls — and dead we are, until that heavenly wind comes and breathes upon us, that we may live. We do not hesitate to say that we owe as much to God the Holy Spirit as we do to God the Son. Indeed, it were a high sin and misdemeanor to attempt to put one person of the divine Trinity before another. You, O Father, are the source of all grace, all love and all mercy towards us. You, O Son, are the channel of Your Father’s mercy, and without You Your Father’s love could never flow to us. And You, O Spirit, are He who enables us to receive that divine virtue which flows from the fountainhead, the Father, through Christ the channel, and which, by Your means, enters into our heart and there abides, bringing forth its glorious fruit. Magnify, then, the Spirit. There never yet was a heavenly thought, a hallowed deed, or a consecrated act, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, which was not worked in us by the Holy Spirit. |
“Whence Hast Thou That Living Water?”
John 4:11
The Lord Jesus told this woman plainly that if she had known the gift of God and who he was, she would have asked of him, and he would have given her living water. I fully realize that she did not know the full implication of what he said; but she obviously understood that he was talking about something different from the waters which gathered in Jacob’s well. He was talking about water bubbling with life from a constantly renewed and renewing source, an artesian well of water. Therefore, she asked a very reasonable question. – She said, “Whence hast thou that living water?”
The Lord Jesus Christ has all grace, salvation, and eternal life in himself. He has it for sinners (He does not need it!) to give away freely. And he gives it to every sinner who ask him for it. Still the question to be answered is — “Whence hast thou that living water?” How is it that Christ alone has grace, salvation, and eternal life in himself to give to needy sinners, and no one else and nothing else does?
It is true, salvation is the work of the triune God. The Father chose us. The Son redeemed us. The Holy Spirit converts us. But God the Father will not and cannot give us this living water without Christ. And God the Spirit cannot give us this living water without Christ. How is it that Christ alone has this living water to give to poor, needy, thirsty sinners? “Whence then hast thou that living water?”
He has it because of who he is. He is the only fit person to have it. God could never come down to man. Man could never rise to God. If ever the two come together they must meet in a Mediator, a Daysman, who can lay hold of both God and man. That Daysman, that Mediator is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ alone is the Mediator between God and men (1 Tim. 2:5; Acts 4:12).
Did you ever notice how careful the writers of Holy Scripture were to refer to the Lord Jesus Christ, almost always, in the most reverent, worshipful terms. Seldom did any speak of him only by his earthly name, “Jesus.” He is often called by his title, “Christ,” and by the term, “the Lord.” But he is most commonly called, “the Lord Jesus Christ,” because all that he is is essential to our salvation by him.
He has all salvation in himself, because he is “the Lord.” Who should have it, but “the Lord”? “Salvation is the LORD’S!” Salvation is his to give, because he is “Jesus,” who came into this world to save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). He has salvation in himself to give to sinners, because he is “Christ,” the Christ of God.
He is the Anointed One, sent from God to be our Savior! On the day of his immersion in the river Jordan to fulfil all righteousness, the Spirit of God descended upon him in the form of a dove, and abode on him. God gave the Spirit to him without measure. He was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. This is exactly what he announced to the Jews in the temple when he began his public ministry (Lk. 4:16-21). He has this “living water” of salvation, grace, and eternal life to give to sinners, because he is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Don Fortner
Muddy streams and broken, leaky cisterns
(By John MacDuff)
“Come! Let him that is athirst,
come—and
whoever will, let him take of the
water of life freely!” Revelation 22:17
Thirsty? who is not thirsty? It is the cry of
universal humanity! Who does not feel that this
world is presenting us with muddy
streams and
broken, leaky cisterns. Who
does not feel, in
their moments of deep and calm reflection, when
we are brought face to face with the great enigma
of existence—that the world is serving up faded
flowers instead of those redolent with
imperishable
fragrance, and glowing with unfading bloom.
Prodigal! Wanderer from God, exile from peace,
roaming the forest haunts of sin, plunging deeper
and deeper into their midnight of ruin and despair;
has an arrow wounded your heart? Are you, in your
agony, seeking rest and finding none—having the
gnawing feeling of dissatisfaction with all created
things, and an undefined longing for a solace they
cannot give? Yes! for your gaping, bleeding wound
there is “balm in Gilead, and a Physician
there!”
“Yes, Lord! I come! Thirsty, faint, forlorn, wounded,
weary! I come, just as I am, without one plea. You
are all I need, all I require—in sickness and health,
in joy and in sorrow, in life and in death, in time
and through eternity!”
The never-failing Fountain of
blessing!
(“Every Day!” Author unknown, 1872)
“He giveth more grace!” James 4:6
Come, then, my soul, to Him — as an empty vessel to
be filled. A supply is waiting for you in Christ Jesus. “It has pleased
the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.” He is the never-failing Fountain of blessing! Out
of His fullness, you may receive grace upon grace. Whatever you need — come to
God in Christ for it.
Is your faith weak? He can strengthen it.
Is your hope dull? He can enliven it.
Is your love cold? He can warm it.
Is your patience failing? He can sustain it.
Is your zeal languishing? He can invigorate it.
And observe, the Lord gives not only a new supply of grace, but
He also gives it in a larger measure: “He gives more grace!”
He came not only that we might have life — but that we might have it “more
abundantly.”
Come, then, to Him with enlarged desires.
He can fill you with joy and peace in believing.
He can enable you to bear much fruit to the glory of the Father.
He can bless you, and make you a blessing to many.
O Lord, enlarge my desires, raise my expectations, and help me
to receive, not only constant supplies of grace — but increased supplies
out of Your fullness! For You give “more grace!”
“Open your mouth wide — and He will fill it!” Psalm
81:10
His heart is a fountain of
mercy, and its streams are perpetually flowing!
(“Heavenly Aspirations!” John MacDuff,
1818-1895)
A funeral procession was coming out as He approached the village
gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son. When the Lord saw
her, His heart overflowed with compassion. ‘Do not weep!’He
said.” Luke 7:12-13
Oh, how was His tender heart touched by the scene He witnessed
on this occasion! The sight excited the liveliest emotions in His sinless
bosom; and with a look beaming with pity, and in the most tender tones, He said
to her, “Do not weep!”
In the Person of our adorable Redeemer, we behold mercy
incarnate. This was the garb in which the whole of His other virtues were
arrayed; the soft luster with which they were all surrounded and adorned.
Such was the character of Jesus in the days of His flesh, and
such is it still. He with whom we have to do, whose favor we implore, and whose
blessings we supplicate — far from being a harsh, unfeeling Master — is a
loving Savior and compassionate Friend. His
heart is a fountain of mercy, and its streams are perpetually flowing!
To bathe in the ocean of endless bliss!
J.C.Philpot
Psa. 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
Psa. 84:6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
Psa. 84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
Every living soul that has been experimentally taught
his lost condition—that has known something of a resting
place in Christ—that has turned his back upon both the
world and the professing church—and gone weeping
Zionward, that he may . . .
live in Jesus
feel His power,
taste His love,
know His blood,
rejoice in His grace;
every such soul shall, like Israel of old, be borne safely
through this waste howling wilderness—shall be carried
through this valley of tears—and taken to enjoy eternal
bliss and glory in the presence of Jesus—to bathe in the
ocean of endless bliss!