A Goodly Heritage

WHO THAT INDIVIDUAL IS THAT CAN CLAIM CHRIST AS HIS OR HER FRIEND. And here we observe, that no person in a state of nature can make this claim, since Christ is neither beloved by such, nor are they acquainted with that friendship which dwells in His breast towards all those whom He has redeemed with His most precious blood. And as they are unacquainted with His friendship, they cannot claim Him as their Friend. Neither is it the privilege of every one who is called by grace to claim Christ as his Friend. Although every regenerate person has faith, yet every regenerate person may not have the full assurance of faith. When faith does rise to this full assurance, the possessor thereof can say as Paul did, "He loved me and gave Himself for me." Such can say with holy Job, "I know that my Redeemer liveth" not the Redeemer, but my Redeemer; "and that He shall stand, etc. Such can say as Thomas did, "My Lord and my God" Such can say as the Church does, &quo

"Of Him, Through Him, And To Him Are All Things." Such is the sublime sentiment of this passage:—and it is in harmony with others which the pages of inspiration furnish,—both in its abstract truth, and in the spirit, or posture and emotion of mind, with which the sentiment is uttered. For in this Book, we many a time meet with sentiments, such as are in themselves noble and elevated,—but which are rendered still more lofty and impressive, by the form in which they are presented. Thus it is in the text. It is not the abstract sentiment of the divine supremacy merely that is didactically brought before us. We have it in union with the devotion which it is fitted to inspire. We see the effect of the contemplation of it on the mind of the writer. We see that mind expanding itself to its utmost enlargement, to take in the vast conception:—his heart, at the same time, swelling with rapturous emotion;—his soul, sinking under an abasing sense of its own nothingness,—and yet rising to

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In this song of thanksgiving, observe, (1.) All the joys, the honours, and happiness, of king David, founded in the perfections and gracious works of God, ver. 1-6. (2.) Full assurance of the stability of David’s throne, and of the discovery and destruction of his implacable opposers, ver. 7-12. (3.) Earnest supplications to God, for the exhilarating displays of his glory and power, ver. 13. But chiefly, my soul, behold here, the everlasting honours, joys, happiness, and blissful influences of thy Redeemer! Behold how fixed in his kingdom and dignity, in the infinite, everlasting, and unchangeable wisdom, power, mercy, equity, goodness and truth of the Most High! Behold, what inexpressible vengeance kindles upon and destroys his Jewish, his Heathen, his Antichristian, and other incorrigible foes! ­ Rejoice my soul, in this God thy Saviour. Rejoice at the glory wherewith he is crowned: at the life granted to, and lodged in him; and in his being

Believer! Can you now say with some of the holy transport of the apostle, “Whom having not seen we love”? What must it be when you come to see Him “face to face,” and that for ever and ever! If you can tell of precious hours of communion in a sin-stricken, woe-worn world, with a treacherous heart, and an imperfect or divided love, what must it be when you come, in a sinless, sorrowless state, with purified and renewed affections, to see the King in His beauty! The letter of an absent brother, cheering and consolatory as it is, is a poor compensation for the joys of personal and visible communion. The absent Elder Brother on the Throne speaks to you now only by His Word and Spirit, – soon you shall be admitted to His immediate fellowship, seeing Him “as He is” – He Himself unfolding the wondrous chart of His providence and grace – leading you about from fountain to fountain among the living waters, and with His own gentle hand wiping the last lingering teardrop from your eye. Heaven an

Why is it that God grants to some nations the light of his gospel and the blessings of his worship, and leaves others in the darkness of nature to endure the horrors of a sottish superstition? None can give a wiser answer to this awful question than that given by the Redeemer: “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.” We are compelled to resolve many things into the sovereign will of God, who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, and giveth an account to none of his creatures.W S Plumer

Truth about Faith I shall not attempt a definition of faith. This only let me say in a few words, that the faith which goes no farther than the intellect can neither save nor sanctify. It is no faith at all. It is unbelief. No faith is saving but that which links us to the Person of a living Saviour. Whatever falls short of this is not faith in Christ. Hence, while salvation is described sometimes in Scripture as a “coming to the knowledge of the truth;” it is more commonly represented as a “coming to Christ Himself.” “Ye will not come to me that ye might have life”; “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (Joh 5:40; 6:37). But whatever view of faith we take, one thing is obvious, that it is from first to last “the gift of God” (Rom 6:23). Make it as simple as you please, still it is the result of the Holy Spirit’s direct, immediate, all-quickening power. (Never attempt, I beseech you, my dear friend, to make faith simple, with the view of getting rid of the Spirit to produc