A Goodly Heritage

"Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?" Psalms 85:6 T IS INTERESTING to notice the time when this prayer was offered. It was a time of mercy. "Lord thou hast been favorable unto thy land". It was a time when God had led many to the knowledge of Christ, and covered many sins. "thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people." It was now they began to feel their need of another visit of mercy -- "Wilt thou not revive us again?" The Thing Prayer For "Revive us again," or literally, return and make us live anew. It is the prayer of those who have received some life, but feel their need of more. They had been made alive by the Holy Spirit. They felt the sweetness and excellence of this new, hidden, divine life. They pant for more -- "Wilt thou not revive us again?" The Argument Presented "That thy people may rejoice in thee." They plead with God to do this for the sake of His people, that thei...

The Lord's Supper is the sweetest of all ordinances: 1. Because of the time when it was instituted. "The Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread." It was the darkest night that ever was in this world, and yet the brightest -- the night when His love of the sinners was put to the severest test. How amazing that He should remember our comfort at such a time! 2. Because it is the believer's ordinance. It is the duty of all men to pray. God hears the ravens when they cry, and so He often hears the prayers of the unconverted men (Psalm 107; Acts 8:22). It is the duty of all men to hear the preached gospel. "Unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men." But the Lord's Supper is the children's bread; it is intended only for those who know and love the Lord Jesus. 3. Because Christ is the beginning, middle, and end of it. "This do in remembrance of Me." "Ye do show the Lord's death till He come....

The Pilgrim's Staff MY BELOVED FRIENDS, let us notice, in the first place, the history of this remarkable promise: 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.' These words have been a staff in the hand of believers throughout all ages; and they will be so to you, if you lean upon them. First of all, let us trace the history of this promise. You will notice that it is not put into this epistle for the first time—it is a borrowed promise. First of all, I think, it is borrowed from what God said to Jacob in Genesis 28:15: 'Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 'There is another place from which I think it is borrowed: 'And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of a good courage, and do it; fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee: He will not fail thee, nor ...

There are times in the, life of a believer when he is like a traveller who has arrived at some high eminence; he can look back on the way he has gone and the way he has yet to go. So this is a passage where God tells us what he has done and what he will yet do. The history of a believer is wonderful, whether we look backward or forward. If we look back, there is election in a past eternity; and if we look forward, there is deliverance and final victory. As Christ's name is "wonderful", so all the members of his body are wonderful, for they are "men wondered at". The history of a believer divides itself into two parts - before and after conversion. Let us consider the past history of a believer. "Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb" (verse 3). God follows his chosen vessels before their conversion. Now, let us notice some of his providenc...

Thanksgiving Obtains The Spirit THE DAY HERE SPOKEN of appears to have been a day of days. It seems to have been the day of Pentecost on Old Testament times - a type of all the glorious days of an outpoured Spirit that ever have been in the world - a foretaste of that glorious day when God will fulfill that amazing, soul-satisfying promise: "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." My dearly beloved flock, it is my heart's desire and prayer that this very day might be such a day among us - that God would indeed open the windows of heaven, as He has done in times past, and pour down a blessing, till there be no more room to receive it. Let us observe, then, how thanksgiving brings down the Spirit of God. How the people were engaged. "In praising and thanking the Lord." Yea, you have their very words: "For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever." It was thus the people were engaged when the cloud came down and filled the house. They had be...

"And when He [the Comforter] is come, He will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." (John 16:8) When friends are about to part from one another, they are far kinder than ever they have been before. It was so with Jesus. He was going to part from His disciples, and never till now did His heart flow out toward them in so many streams of heavenly tenderness. Sorrow had filled their heart, and therefore divinest compassion filled His heart. "I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away." Surely it was expedient for Himself that He should go away. He had lived a life of weariness and painfulness, not having where to lay His head, and surely it was pleasant in His eyes that He was about to enter into His rest. He had lived in obscurity and poverty—He gave His back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; and now, surely, He might well look forward with joy...

Zechariah 3.1, 2. "And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" T he conversion of a soul is by far the most remarkable event in the history of the world, although many of you do not care about it. It is the object that attracts the eyes of the holy angels to the spot where it takes place. It is the object which the Father's eye rests upon with tenderness and delight. This work in the soul is what brings greater glory to the Father, Son, and Spirit, than all the other works of God. It is far more wonderful than all the...