A Goodly Heritage

The Scottish Reformation: A Work of God

Do we know the power of prayer?  Feeling that we are perishing , have we sent up a cry for help to that God who is a refuge for his people in every time of trouble . If so , He will send help out of his Holy hill of Zion  . Why is it that our prayers seem so frequently to go unanswered  - that despite of them all , we feel that we are sinking still ? Is it not because that they are not the cries of those who feel  their awful and affecting need of Christ , and are really desirous that his hand be stretched for their rescue . Let us go with the publicans lowly spirit , and with the sinking disciple's importunate entreaty , "Lord save me , I perish ! Lord I look to thee for safety . There is no safety in myself . I feel that I am a lost undone sinner , and unless plucked from the billows of sin , I shall perish everlastingly . But Lord, from the depths  I cry to thee; help me , O thou helper of the helpless !Show me that "mans extremity is God's opportunity ," and

Repentance must be the work of our whole lives, for so our turning from sin and returning to God will be , if we are true penitents. While the sincere penitent is fleeing from sin , it follows him . It often overtakes him , and therefore he must renew his flight often . New provocations require a renewed exercise of repentance ; nay , old sins are not to be forgotten . "Remember "said Moses to Israel , "and forget not , how thou provokest the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness." And the Psalmist prayed thus ; "Remember not the sins of my youth , nor my transgressions." The whole life of a true penitent is a continual warfare . During this warfare he must fight many battles . Sometimes he gains the victory and sometimes he loses. If he loses he must renew the fight ; if he gains , he must pursue the victory and prepare for a new encounter . But he should always be of good courage and maintain his conflicts resolutely , for though he may lose a particul

"And they come unto thee as the people cometh  , and they sit before thee as my people , and they hear thy words , but they will not do them ; for with their mouth they show much love , but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And lo thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice , and can play well on an instrument , for they hear thy words but they do them not "

The saviour who died for you is the mighty God , and is able to keep your immortal soul, and even your mortal body , safe in life , in death , and through eternity . That heart of His is full of human sympathies , but they are the sympathies of a God , and not powerless , like the tears of a mere man . Where Jesus weeps , death itself lets go its grasp, and Lazarus comes forth . He loves you with all tenderness, and gentleness , and warm affectiopn of His human heart , but with all the force of that divinity to which it belongs . Trust Him implicitly , love Him fervently , live for Him entirely , as redeemed unto God by His blood .     James Ramsey

O Lord , revive thy work in the midst of the years. Hab 3v2. When we are oppressed with the state of the church and the world , as Habakkuk was , there is no resource but to turn to God . It is of no use to say to our brother , "What shall we do. "Better at once to get into the presence of the Almighty . All conferences with flesh and blood are wasted breath , unless ther has been a previous one with God . Note the unselfishness of the prayer which precedes revival . We must not pray ,"Revive my work ,"lest the insidious temptation come in of using the stream of God's blessings to turn our own tiny water wheels for our own profit . Let us get beyond the narrow limits of our church or section and ask for a revival of GOD'S work everywhere . If any preach another Gospel than that which the Apostles preached , let him be accursed ; he is selling bran for wheat ; he is filling cartridges with sand. We want nothing but the Gospel of the Cross of Jesus Christ ,

As long as we can stand and hold our own , we fail of our quest . When we are lamed and broken , and unable to do more than cling , we realise God's hidden stores of blessed help . The sick child elicits most of the mother's love . The last born babe drags down to the level of its tiny mouth its strong and brawny father . Meyer

"O man ," Tersteegen said , "whoever you are , stand still for a moment , and think earnestly of the high dignity for which you were created , and sent into the world by God .  You were not made for time and for passing things , but for God and eternity , and to have your heart filled with God and with things eternal .  Yield yourself up fearlessly to his mighty working , and be still, and welcome Him in his gracious operation in the heart,"