A Goodly Heritage

The righteousness of God , whereby He justifieth sinners , and sanctifieth the justified , and executeth judgement for Hid reconciled people , is the sweetest object of the church's joy .    David Dickson

The wisdom of God is seen in this , that the sins of men shall carry on God's work ; yet that He should have no hand in their sin . The Lord permits sin , but doth not approve it . He hath a hand in the action in which sin is , but not in the sin of the action . Thomas Watson

As the sun , which would shine in its own brightness and glory though all the world were blind , or did wilfully shut their eyes against it , so God will be ever most glorious ,let men be ever most obstinate or rebellious . Yea , God will have glory by reprobates , though it be nothing to their ease ; and though He be not glorified of them , yet He will glorify Himself in them . Nehemiah Rogers

God had revealed His holiness to Israel ; and He wished them to consider it the "beauty " of His nature . If we take a portrait of a man , we try to represent his face , not his hand , nor his back nor his foot ; we try to delineate his beauty, to refresh our minds with that which is most memorable and distinguishing in his exterior semblance ; so , while the hand and finger of God denote His power and skill , and His throne is used for majesty and dominion . He considers His holiness as the true lustre of His character , as that by which He is best known .  Edward Reynolds

We may trace the Spirit's work on the MENTAL POWERSand show that there is a divine influence decisive as to the action of them all. A single glance at the Spirit's operation on the understanding , will , and conscience , will suffice to show that , in the case of the regenerate , the Holy Spirit is the efficient cause of all their spiritual activity .           With regard to the UNDERSTANDING , all spiritual light is derived from the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus enlightening the eyes of their understanding (Ephesians 1:17)When the question is raised , does the illumination belong solely to prevenient grace ?? it is necessary to distinguish . In the first act of illumination , the Spirit acts much the same way as when He commanded the light to shine out of darkness . But when the man has received the power of vision , he uses it for the increase of his knowledge in the way of co-operating grace . The truths which he believed to the saving

To break men off from particular sins , and not to break their hearts , is to deprive ourselves of advantages of dealing with them . And herein is the Roman mortification grievously faulty ; they drive all sorts of persons to it , without the least consideration whether they have a principle for it or no . Yea , they are so far from calling on men to believe , in order that they may be able to mortify their lusts , that they call men to mortification instead of believing . The truth is , they neither know what is is to believe , nor what mortification itself intends . Faith with them is a general assent to the doctrine taught in thgeir church ; and mortification is the betaking of a man by a vow to some certain course of life , wherein he denies himself something of the use of the things of this world , not without a considerable compensation . Such men know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God . Their boasting of their mortification is but their glorying  in their shame .    

"Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus" The entertainment and increase of Christian love , of due esteem of one another , and affection of one to another , is no matter of empty compliment , but is the very stamp of Jesus Christ upon His followers . It is therefore most carefully to be preserved entire ; and unhappy are they that do by any means willingly break it . Oh! let us beware of doing so , and follow peace even when it seems to fly from us . !This peace , that is the portion of those in Christ , is indeed within them, and with God ; but through Him , tis likewise one with another , and in that notion , to be desired and wished jointly with the other .                                 They that are in Christ are the only children and heirs of true peace . Others may dream of it , and have a false peace for a time , and wicked men may wish it to themselves and one another ; but 'tis a most vain and insignificant hope ; but to wish it to them that are in C

Christ still stands and cries in the midst of a thirsting world , " Whosoever will let him take the water of life freely . " Has His voice become so familiar that it has lost all significance ? For all who fear and believe , His truth remains . There is life -abundant life for us . Drink of any other fountain , and you only intensify thirst , and make life more difficult , spending energy without renewing it . Live in Christ and you live in God . You have found the centre , the heart , the eternal life . As Christ stood and cried to the people He was conscious of a power to impart to them a freshly welling spring of life  - a life that would overflow for the strengthening and gladdening of others besides themselves . He has the same consciousness today ; the deep , living benefits He confers are as open to all ages as the sunshine and the air ; there is no necessity binding any one soul to feel that life is a failure , an empty , disappointing husk , serving no good purpose

How shall we have a view of this love , of God as love ? By what way or means shall we behold the glory of it ? It is hidden from all living , in God Himself . The wise philosophers , who discoursed so much of the love of God , knew nothing of this ,that "God is love "The most of the natural notions of men about it are corrupt , and the best of them weak and imperfect . Generally , the thoughts of men about it is that He is of a facile and easy nature , One that they make bold with on all their occasions , as the psa;lmist declares (Ps 50:21) And whereas it must be learned in its effects , operations , and Divine ways of its manifestation , those who know not Christ know nothing of them . And many things in providence interpose to hinder our view of this love ; for although , indeed , "God is love "yet  " his wrath is revealed from heaven against the ungodliness of men ,"as all things at this day are filled with evidences of His anger and displeasure .  

Patience to the soul is as bread to the body -.....we eat bread with all our meats , both for health and relish ; bread with flesh , bread with fish , bread with broths and fruits . Such is patience to every virtue ; we must hope with patience , and pray in patience , and love with patience , and whatsoever good thing we do , let it be done in patience . Thomas Adams

O the unspeakable depths of the goodness and mercy of God ! O the riches of his superabounding grace ! When there was no other way of redemption , God sent his only begotten Son , that by his precious blood , as of a lamb without blemish and without spot , we might be redeemed from all the consequences of our vain conversation received by tradition from our fathers ; and not only from its consequences ,but from its power and practice . It is a knowledge , a personal , experimental knowledge of this redemption , which lays us under a spiritual obligation to walk worthy of our high calling . And it acts in this way . A view of faith of the bleeding , dying Lamb of God , a seeing and feeling of what he suffered in the garden and on the cross to redeem us from hell , will ever make sin hateful in our eyes , and holiness longed after  as the soul,s happiest element . If ever sin is mourned over , hated , confessed , and forsaken ; if ever there be ardent desires after a conformity to Chris

Being a Holy Minister

Oh , what an abyss of evil is revealed to the sinner when the Spirit convinces him , as Christ says , "of sin , because he believes not on me !"  No wonder the 3000 souls of men ,women , and children , on the day of Pentecost so cried out in fear and anguish of heart , when the Spirit , silently , but with power , showed this sin of unbelief , and charged it home on each , while Peter pointed to the crucified Son of God . "Of righteousness , because I go to my Father , and ye see me no more ."  Carrying on the conversion work , the Spirit does not stop at conviction of sin , but shows the awakened soul how that tremendous guilt of unbelief and all other sin may be taken away . In other words , He goes on to show where the sinner may find righteousness - may find all that will set him right with God against whom he has sinned . Here He works silently , but very powerfully . Go down to that riverside , and notice how Lydia is made to drop the filthy rags of devout

"Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth ." Tomorrow will come ; on that point there is no doubt ; but will you be here to meet it ?The day is sure , but your interest in it altogether uncertain . We have faculties for knowing the past and experiencing the present , but none for discerning the future . We know well , each in his own immediate sphere , what was yesterday , and what is today , but we know not at all what will be tomorrow . The uncertain thing is not the day and its nearness , but our life and our condition when it arrives .                      To count on tomorrow so as to neglect the duties of today is in many respects the greatest practical error amongst men . None have a wider range , and none are charged with more dreadful consequences . Whether the work in hand pertain to small matters or great , - to the sowing of a field or to the redemption of a soul ,- for everyone who resolves not to do it , a hundred tread t