A Goodly Heritage

In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of red wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs!" Psalm 75:8 It will help greatly to the right apprehension of this solemn subject, to notice that  Christ  is the speaker of these sober truths. They cannot, then, have been spoken harshly; they must have been uttered in all  tenderness . This shall be in the day when He returns to judge the earth. It is He, meanwhile, who upholds all by the word of His power; He  keeps  the world from falling into ruin; He it is who  sustains  that blue firmament, as well as earths foundations, "I bear up the pillars thereof" — and were I to withhold my hand, all would tumble into ruin. Oh that an unthinking world would consider! Oh that fools would learn wisdom, and the proud fall down before their Lord. For the Judge shall surely come, with the cup of red wine in His hand — a cup of wrath, of wh...

'..and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.' Philipp. 3:8 For a man to have 'won Christ,' in the scriptural sense of the term, would be the same thing as 'already attained,' and as 'already perfect.' So Christ is this subject, 'Winning Christ.' Why, then, attempt to handle so great a subject? We seek to be enabled, by the grace and Spirit of God, to point out what a pursuit it is, that all may engage in it for themselves. The Alpine guide can take the traveller to a point from which he will see the scenery of the prospect that is so immense; but he does not undertake to look for the traveller. If I had been a shepherd lad at Bethlehem in the day when Christ was born, I could have done what the star did for the wise men. I could have said, 'There is the spot where the babe new-born King o...

The value of a 'thought' may be very great. Everybody knows this. It may be the seed of a great harvest. But it is not the thought merely in itself, but the thought carried out and used. It is like what in the mechanical department has been found to be the value of a small piece of metal, if turned to use by a little skill and application. A late writer shows that 'a farthing's worth of iron may be converted into an ounce of steel, by labour worth 4,5d. That, again, might be converted by labour into 2250 yards of spring wire, worth £13,4s.od. By putting it through yet another process, that wire might be made into 7650 spring balances, worth 2/6d each, which, in the aggregate, could give £960 odds.' Starting with this illustration from mechanics, let me now show how in practical spiritual work a simple thought became the means of a great amount of blessing to souls. It is now thirty-three years at least since I first used this model. About the year 1845, while in...

[God's promises are all "Yea and Amen" in Christ Jesus. But let us see that we take them all from the hand of Jesus. Let the Owner of the Vineyard give us the grapes; let us not pick them as they hang over the wall. Is Christ yours? Then His promises are yours.] "Fear not, Abraham; I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward." - Gen.15:1. The first time in the Bible "FEAR NOT" occurs. It is spoken to a sinner who simply believed God when He told him of the Promised Seed. It is for thee, also, who believest in that Promised One. "Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is." - Gen.21:17. The second time in the Bible "FEAR NOT" occurs. It is kindly spoken to one who had had shortly before a visit of the Angel of the Covenant (chap.16:10). Has He taken away thy great burden of sin? Then, "What aileth thee, Hagar? FEAR NOT" - He will order this providence for good. "Fear not; for I am with thee,...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 1:3  There are many wonderful things in this epistle. Sometimes we are told to look up to the 'heavenly places;' sometimes to look back, past eternity; and again we are told to look far forward, into the 'ages to come.' Men used to come to Ephesus to see the great temple of Diana. If we read this epistle to Ephesus, the Holy Spirit opening our eyes, we will see things more wonderful. We will not have read many verses till we have to stand still and wonder. Let us see in this verse : 1. Christ in the heavenly places. - This is another name for the right hand of God. Christ's work is all done, and so the Father has said, 'Sit down' in the place of glory and honour. His reward is begun. The Father has poured upon Him the oil of joy above His fellows. 'Thou hast made Him most blessed for ever.' 2. The Father g...

Matthew 11:1-11 JOHN the Baptist lay in prison unnoticed, and we may say uncared for, for nearly a year. How mysterious! No wonder he sent to ask the Master if there was any explanation of this. 'Art Thou He that should come? Is this like the Messiah?' Christ's answer to the disciples of John was, 'Tell your master what I am doing, and have been doing. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed.' With this message they were dismissed, only that the Master said as they left, 'Tell John not to be stumbled at My dealings with him. Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me.' Infer from other things, not from circumstances, how you stand toward the Lord, and how He stands toward you. Learn the heart of the Lord by what He has done for you. Think of Him who gave Himself for us, and trust Him. Never distrust the Father, never distrust the Son, but confide in their wisdom and lovingkindness. Wait till you see the end of all affliction. Learn ...

“When present affliction strips us of all earthly comforts, so that we can adopt Habbakuk’s words; if it makes us look with in the veil and hear Christ saying, ‘Am I not better than all My gifts?’ then affliction is a blessing. How far will the blessing go? It worketh out for us an eternal weight of glory. Affliction for a moment, then an eternity of glory to recompense it! Instead of there being just a possibility that the affliction may do you good, Paul says “It is beyond measure efficacious. You could not do without it.’ To Paul the heaviest affliction seemed but a feather resting on his soul, because he lived so much within the veil. If we cannot, like him, say ‘Our light affliction,’ let us try to say at any rate, ‘It is but for a moment.’

Psalm 103: 1-5 IN this psalm we find the Psalmist standing at the golden altar with his harp in his hand, recounting all his mercies. This psalm teaches us adoration. Adoration is not thanksgiving; it is silent wonder. I once saw a striking instance of this in a sick one, who said to me, 'I got such a sight of the Lord Jesus — His wonderful Person—His finished work—that at last I was obliged to stop giving thanks, and just look, look, look!' Adoration is wrought in us by the Holy Ghost, and it is very sanctifying when He gives us such moments of nearness to Himself. Looking on Him at such times we cannot say, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul!' we can only gaze and wonder. Praise is a little lower down Pisgah. Adoration is higher, nearer the upper sky. It is more than apostolic, it is angelic; for the angels say, 'Glory to Him who sitteth upon the throne.' It is the feeling of a soul under God's afflicting hand, to whom God has given great sanctification. 'B...