A Goodly Heritage

" Fear not little flock  ; for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom . - Luke 12 : 32 How am I to know whether I am of the number or not ? .The Word of God supplies us with evidences as to who are of the number , and who are not . All who are are called effectually by the gospel , they know the voice of Christ and they follow Him; they love one another ; they are poor in spirit and afflicted ; they are the praying ones , and they are pilgrims and strangers here below ; they hate sin , and delight in holiness , and they are aware of the Shepherds care and protection . They need to be fed by the Word of God , for nothing else is suited to their necessities ; they search and try themselves , and ask God that he would show them their secret faults . They are willing to know the worst , and they prefer this to being deceived and perishing in their delusion   If you cannot find any of these evidences in yourself , let it be your daily concern to be made one of

This is the want - the crying demand of our age - a living Christianity - Epistles of Christ that may "be known and read of all men"Presumptuous scoffers are there , who would dare to allege that the Bible is an antiquated book - that its age is past and gone - that it was well enough for the church or the world in its nonage  - but the refinements of the present age demand something higher and better . Vain dreamers ! Christians, if you value your Bibles and prize their priceless worth , know that something better , something nobler , cannot be given ; remember too , there is one volume ( not a substitute , but an all important supplement ) which you can produce to silence the gainsayer - the volume of your life :- a volume read by worldly and scoffing eyes , that scorn to read the Word of God . They can contemn God's blessed Revelation as an effete and antiquated story , but they cannot resist the mighty eloquence of a pure , holy , Christ - like , heavenly walk ! Scor

Outdoor Preaching at Ferintosh Burn:: OS grid NH5857 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland - photograph every grid square!

John 1 :13.    Men's free-will, or natural power , is quite dead in the matter of regeneration; its utmost endeavours can contribute nothing to this work , for they "were born , not of the will"or the strongest inclinations" of the flesh".Whatever singular endowments of learning , wisdom , or valour men have , yet none of these do prove regeneration , nor can they contribute anything to such a work ," for they were born not of the will of man ,", or of famous or virtuous men , as the word in the original often signifies .  Regeneration is God's own work , who employs his word as the seed , sends his ministers as instruments to sow the seed , and who quickens the soul by the Spirit , who is the immediate worker of regeneration in order of operation , and so , whatever excellency regenerate men may have , they are bound to acknowledge that grace saved them and made them to differ from others , for they "were born "not of anything "but

"They that trust in the Lord , shall be as Mount Zion ,which cannot be removed , but abideth forever ....." The stability of the church ,and the protection afforded her by Jehovah, were of old represented by the mountain on which the divine presence resided , and by the hills that encompassed Jerusalem , so as to render that city in a manner impregnable . While her inhabitants continued to" trust in the Lord " this was the case . But when she became faithless and disobedient , she became weak , like any other city . Let not "our trust in God " be a presumptuous ungrounded  assurance , but let it be a confidence springing from faith unfeigned , out of a pure heart , a good conscience , and fervent love . Then shall our situation , whether as a church or as individuals , resemble that of the holy mount in the beloved city , and our God will be unto us a fortress , and a wall round about . But , let us never forget , that the promises to us , like those to I

Observe the blessing breathed down upon the Lord's waiting ones . They find life (Isaiah 55 .3) For He on whom they wait is the author , the Dispenser , the Keeper of life ." He therefore that hath Him hath life "with all its present privileges of favour of the Lord . "The smiles of God make Heaven ; and they that obtain favour of the Lord ,have a heaven upon earth ."Set therefore this expectation before your eyes in waiting on thy God .  " I am seeking life for my soul ; I will wait at the post of His doors missing no opportunity of a means of grace ; I shall not wait in vain ".    Would that the sinner - the thoughtless sinner - not the daring and ungodly only -pondered how his heartless neglect of wisdom  wronged his own soul ! How cruel is he to himself ,while he is despising his Saviour . Every bait to sin is the temptation to suicide - soul murder . The snatching at it is as if men were in love with damnation . "They that hate me love death

Malachi 4.2.At the end of the Old Testament it is meet that the sun should break out .The morning that broke on Paradise was clear enough . It was without clouds . But the sky soon became darkened , and at last veiled , and only here and there a chink of the blue sky left . All through the dark succeeding centuries there have been gleams of sunshine to let man know that the sun was shining still . Every precious promise , every solemn type , every holy life , that was bathed in supernatural beauty , was like the shining forth of the sun through the bars of human darkness and sin . But evidently more was in store than Old Testament saints had dreamed ; and the time was coming when the reign of type , symbol , and parable would be succeeded by the clear vision of the face of God .     We live in days of open vision . Let us go forth and exult . We are to rejoice in every good thing He gives us . As the young calves of the spring manifest their exuberant life in their caperings and gambo

Grant , Almighty God , since thou hast shown us by so many , such clear and such solid testimonies , that we can hope for no other Redeemer than him whom thou hast set forth ; and as thou hast sanctioned his divine and eternal power by so many miracles , and hast sealed it by both the preaching of the Gospel and the seal of thy Spirit on our hearts , and dost confirm the same by daily experience , - Grant that we may remain firm and stable in him . May we never decline from him ; may our faith never waver , but withstand the temptations of Satan ; and may we so persevere in the course of thy holy calling , that we may be gathered at length into the eternal blessedness and perpetual rest which has been obtained for us by the blood of the same , thy Son .-Amen       Prayer by John Calvin  from his commentary on Daniel.

" We shall purify the sons of Levi , and purge them as ggold and silver."   If you are now in the fire , dear soul , be of good cheer - it shows at least that you are silver , and that you are capable of performing more acceptable service in God's holy Temple . If it were not so , God would not take so much pains. He chastens those whom He loves , and prunes the branches that are already bearing fruit . What a comfort it is that He surrenders this work to no other hands than His own . He may give His angels charge concerning us when we are in danger ; but He keeps our purification beneath His special superintendence . But notice that He sits . What patience is here !However many years you may have to lie on that couch . He will sit beside you . The nurses go off duty but He never . Love may grow faint and be weary , and nod into light slumbers ; but He never slumbers nor sleeps ; when the pain is most unbearable - reach out the hand  ,you will touch His ; breathe the soft

As originally spoken , these words summoned the people of Edom to seek the shadows of impenetrable forests , and retire into the secrecy of the dens and the caves of the rocks The deeper their hiding place , the better it would be when the storm of invasion swept across the land . Dwell deep in the peace of God :- God's peace is so deep and blessed that it cannot be fathomed or explained ; the fugitive into its sacred secrets cannot be followed or dragged forth to perish by the merciless pack of the wolves of care . Men of the world cannot understand the mystery of peace ; but the believer knows the way into it , and makes it his hiding place and pavilion . He sleeps , like his master in the stern , while the storm sweeps over the waters . Dwell deep in communion with God :-Hide in God . Get away from the rush and strife around , and go alone into the clear , still depths of His nature The Rhone loses all its silt in the deep , clear waters of Geneva's lake . A few hasty word

What is it to be a saint ?It is to sanctified by God the Father (Jude 1) set apart by himself to show forth his praise . It is to be washed in the atoning blood and clothed in the justifying righteousness of the Son and to be regenerated by the Spirit of God . It is to introduced into the new world  by being delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son . . What heart can conceive or tongue express the state of blessedness to which the despised saints of God are advanced in this time state ! They are sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty ; Jewels in Jesus'mediatorial crown ; members of his mystical body , and as such united to him by indissoluble ties ; pillars in the temple of God which shall go no more out ;sheep redeemed by precious blood ; virgin souls espoused to the Lord the Lamb (2 Cor. 11:2 ) (Rev 19 : 7)They are heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ , and mansions of glory are prepared for them beyond the skies . There they s

The prayer that rises from the broken and contrite heart is often the sweetest offering to God . The incense must be put on the burning coals before its fragrant smoke will ascend ; the sandal wood must be crushed and bruised before it will give out its sweetest odour . The helpless , who have no human protector , have a mightier and surer one in God . He may allow them to be oppressed for a time , but in the end will visit swift and terrible judgement on their oppressors .     Let not the Christian heart grow timid in a time of prevalent wickedness and unbelief , in the fear that the ark of God may perish . The sons of Jacob shall not be consumed  --  the seed of Christ shall not perish . The unchangeableness of God is the sheet anchor of the Church . He will be faithful to his Son , and to his word , however external circumstances may appear to our wavering faith .    The perseverance of the saints is guaranteed , not by their unchangeable love to God , but by his unchangeable lov

We must never lay aside the heavenly armour ! And this is a mercy , that if we have one piece , we have all . God does not send us to battle half armed . He who has provided one , has provided all . Let this too be remembered , and laid to heart , by way of encouragement  -  that the Lord , in choosing recruits , does not , as our army sergeants , choose the strong , stout , lusty , vigourous , and healthy . He admits strange characters into his regiment ; those whom no army doctor could pass ; the halt and the lame , the blind , the crippled , and asthmatic , and wheezing , and the paralysed ; the consumptive in lung , the diseased in heart , and the withered in limb ; he enlists them in his heavenly regiment , makes them all whole by a touch of his finger , clothes them with his heavenly armour , sends them forth to battle , and fights for them as" the God of armies" . Thus , weak in themselves , they are strong in Christ , and in the power of his might . And every such sol

How much do you prize God's day, the means of grace , opportunities of worship , that are for the inward man ? The Sabbath day is a feast for souls . Now when men are weary of it , it is the most burdensome day of the week : " When will the Sabbath be gone that we may set forth wheat?"(Amos 8:5. ) It is a sign they are carnal , when men count that day the only lost day : as Seneca said of the Jews , they lost the full seventh of their lives , speaking of the Sabbath day ; so carnal men think it is a lost day to them , they look upon the Sabbath as a melancholy interruption of their affairs and business . The Apostle James said of those that are begotten of God , "that they are swift to hear "; Certainly they that have an inward man to maintain , another life than an outward and animal life , must have the supply and will look after the comforts of it . Consider how differently we are concerned with bodily and soul concerns . If the body be but a little diseased