A Goodly Heritage

The world needed, and Israel expected, a Deliverer. The  types  had foreshadowed him, the  prophets had predicted his advent, and the  poets  had prepared hymns to celebrate his coming. At length an extraordinary person appeared; he was reserved in his manner, stern in his appearance, rather unsociable in his habits, and uncompromising in denouncing sin, and demanding repentance. All who professed to repent, he baptized, and pointed them to the coming One, whose way he was preparing. At length, one day, he saw Jesus of Nazareth coming to him, and pointing with his finger to him, with a loud voice, he cried,  "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"  John 1:29. God's Lamb is come. The great sacrifice is about to be offered. The needed atonement will now be made. The way into the holiest will be made plain. Jesus Is God's Lamb.  In his nature and character, we may see all the excellent qualities of the Lamb. He is holy--...

Faith  is bounded, in every ordinance, by its objects and acts. The general object of saving faith respecting God, is the truth of his word and promises,  Rom. xv. 8 . The special object of our faith in this ordinance is the sufferings and death of Christ. Herein he is “evidently set forth crucified before our eyes.” And we must act faith upon three things with respect to his death:— First, The personal love of Christ to our persons, from whence it was that he died for us. So saith the apostle, “Who loved me, and gave himself for me,”  Gal. ii. 20 . Were we helped to raise up our hearts by faith to apprehend Christ’s love to our persons, it would greatly help us in this ordinance. The Lord lift us up above our fears, and give us a view by faith, not only of the love of Christ in general, but that he personally loved us, even this whole church! Secondly, The sufferings of Christ. In this ordinance we are to act faith upon his death, as therein undergoing the punish...

"Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity—quicken me in Your way" (Psalm 119:37). The first request is for the removing of impediments to obedience; the other request is for addition of new degrees of grace. These two are fitly joined, for they have a natural influence upon one another. Unless we turn away our eyes from vanity—we shall soon contract a deadness of heart. When our affections are alive to worldly things—they are dead to God. Therefore the less we let loose our hearts to these things—the more lively and cheerful the work of obedience. On the other side, the more the vigor of grace is renewed, and the habits of it quickened into actual exercise—the more is sin mortified and subdued. 1. It therefore concerns those that would walk with God to have their eyes turned away from worldly things. He who would be quickened, carried out with life and vigor in the ways of God, must first be mortified, die unto sin. Speaking of the fruits of Christ's death, the Ap...

Christian Reader, I cannot suppose thee to be such a stranger in England as to be ignorant of the general complaint concerning the de cay of the power of godliness, and more especially of the great corruption of youth. Wherever thou goest, thou wilt hear men crying out of bad children and bad servants; whereas indeed the source of the mischief must be sought a little higher: it is bad parents and bad masters that make bad children and bad servants; and we cannot blame so much their untowardness, as our own negligence in their educa tion. The devil hath a great spite at the kingdom of Christ, and he knoweth no such compendious way to crush it in the egg, as by the perversion of youth, and supplanting family-duties. He striketh at all those duties which are publick in the assemblies of the saints; but these are too well guarded by the solemn injunctions and dying charge of Jesus Christ, as that he should ever hope totally to subvert and undermine them; but at family duties he striketh w...

THE ENTIRE ELEVATION OF THE MAN WHO IS MADE A PARTAKER OF THE GRACE OF GOD is also a special preservative against sin. I venture to say, though it may be controverted, that the man who believes the glorious doctrines of grace is usually a much higher style of man than the person who has no opinion upon the matter. What do most men think about? Bread-and-butter, house-rent and clothes. But the men who consider the doctrines of the gospel muse upon the everlasting covenant, predestination, immutable love, effectual calling, God in Christ Jesus, the work of the Spirit, justification, sanctification, adoption, and such like noble themes. Why, it is a refreshment merely to look over the catalogue of these grand truths! Others are as children playing with little sand-heaps on the seashore; but the believer in free grace walks among hills and mountains. The themes of thought around him tower upward, Alps on Alps; the man's mental stature rises with his surroundings, and he becomes a t...

The corrupt principle of sin works early in our natures, and for the most part prevents grace from working in us (Psa. 58:3). As we grow mentally and physically, our natures increasingly become the willing instruments of unrighteousness (Rom. 6:13). This perverse ruling principle in us reveals itself more and more as we grow older (Eccles. 11:10). So the child, as it grows, begins to commit actual sins, e.g., lying. Sin increases As men grow in their unregenerate state, sin gains ground subjectively and objectively. The natural subjective desires of the body grow stronger, and objectively the physical organs for the fulfilment of these desires are developing. But those subjective desires ruled by sin become sinful desires, and the organs for the fulfilling of those desires become instruments of sin. Thus when Paul was confronted by God's commandments which forbade him to fulfil those sinful desires, he was tempted more strongly to satisfy his lusts (Rom. 7:8). Timothy is warn...

In nothing does Providence shine forth more gloriously in this world than in ordering the occasions, instruments and means of conversion of the people of God. However skilfully its hand had moulded your bodies, however tenderly it had preserved them and however bountifully it had provided for them; if it had not also ordered some means or other for your conversion, all the former favours and benefits it had done for you had meant little. This, O this, is the most excellent benefit you ever received from its hand. You are more indebted to it for this, than for all your other mercies. And in explaining this performance of Providence, I cannot but think your hearts must be deeply affected. This is a subject which every gracious heart loves to steep its thoughts in. It is certainly the sweetest history that ever they repeated; they love to think and talk of it. The places where, and instruments by whom this work was wrought are exceedingly endeared to them for the work’s sake, yea, endea...