Pleasures forevermore!

("Solitude Sweetened" by James Meikle, 1730-1799)

Alas! with what desperate madness are those chargeable — who are taken up with transitory trifles, and neglect the realities of the everlasting world? When I consider the vanity of all earthly greatness, I cannot help concluding, that such as pursue after it are intoxicated with poison. But even if the pleasures of this world were real and solid, yet they are sotransient — that they are not worthy our pursuit!

O how wise they are for earthly trifles — but how foolish for eternal realities! 

Once a great king made a vast feast for his nobles for a hundred and eighty days; nothing less than a royal treasury could support the expense of such an entertainment.

But the King of kings shall feast and satiate all His mighty angels, and all His chosen people on His own undiminished fullness through eternity itself! Here is . . .
  bliss without ceasing,
  abundance beyond all bounds,
  and possession without end!

"In Your presence is fullness of joy! In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore!" (Psalm 16:11)

shame by every little bird that sits upon the bough and sings, though it has not two grains of barley in all the world?

(Charles Spurgeon, "A Good Start!")

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life--what you will eat or drink; or about your body--what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns--and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire--will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things--and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." Matthew 6:25-32

Undue anxiety is very common among the unsaved--I suppose they cannot help it. Yet Christians must help it; for the Lord's precept is plain and binding:

 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus!"Philippians 4:6-7

Fretful anxiety is forbidden to the Christian!

It is needless. "Look at the birds of the air," said Christ: "they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" If you have a Father in Heaven to care for you--are you not put to shame by every little bird that sits upon the bough and sings, though it has not two grains of barley in all the world? God takes charge of the birds of the air, and thus they live exempt from anxious care--why do not we?

Our Lord also taught that such anxiety is useless as well as needless; for, with all our care, we cannot add a single hour to our life!

Can we do anything else by fretful care? What if the farmer deplores that there is no rain? Do his fears unstop the bottles of Heaven? Or if the merchant sighs because the wind detains his ship laden with goods--will his complainings turn the gale to another quarter?

We do not better ourselves a bit, by all our fretting and fuming. It would be infinitely wiser to do our best--and then cast our care upon our God!

Prudence is wisdom--for it adapts means to ends.
But anxiety is folly--for it groans and worries, and accomplishes nothing!

Besides, according to our Savior, anxiety about worldly things is heathenish: "For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them!" They have no God and no providence--and therefore they try to be a providence to themselves. Let the heir of Heaven act a nobler part than the mere man of the world--who has his portion in this life, and lives without God and without hope.

Our distrust of our God is both childish and dishonoring. I was driven through the streets one day by a friend in a four-wheeled carriage, and he, being a good driver, must needs drive into narrow places, where it seemed to me that we would be crushed by the vans and omnibuses. I shrank back in my timidity, and expressed my unwise alarms so freely, that with a smile he laid the reins in my hand, and said, "If you cannot trust me--would you like to drive yourself?" From that ambition I was wholly free, and I assured him that he might drive as he liked, rather than make me the charioteer!

Surely, the great God might well put the same proposal to those who are complaining of His providence. If we cannot trust Him--could we manage better ourselves?

If we are Christians, let us believe in our God, and leave the governance of the great world to the Lord God, our heavenly Father, who will surely cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The Promised Strength!

The Promised Strength!

(Anonymous)

"Your shoes shall be iron and brass; and as your days — so shall your strength be!" Deuteronomy 33:25

It is well, in every period of the Christian life, to have a right estimate of our own strength. The advanced believer is as unable by his own power, to defend himself from sin and sorrow — as the youthful Christian. But to each — and with peculiar force to the aged pilgrim, whose lengthened experience and deepened humility make him so distrustful of self — the promise comes of Almighty help and support. "As your days," says the God of Israel, "so shall your strength be." In every moment of need, "Fear not — for I am with you; be not dismayed — for I am your God."

When difficulties and dangers arise in your path, let not the thought of your own weakness and insufficiency discourage you; for "I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness." "Without me you can do nothing;" but "My grace is sufficient for you — for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

Take courage, aged Christian, as you listen to these cheering assurances of the most high God; and rejoice that he is able to "supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." For, remember, the strength which his promises guarantee to you, is adequate strength. "As your days — so shall your strength be;" the one fully commensurate with the other. Your present necessities and your future needs might well fill you with distress and apprehension — did not God stand engaged to prepare you for every emergency and to sustain you under every burden. But since the omnipotent Creator has pledged himself to furnish his people with whatever spiritual energy they require in their perpetual conflict — you may gratefully exclaim with the Psalmist, "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust!" Yes, "trust in him at all times," "for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength!"

Let no misgivings disturb your mind, as you think of approaching and augmented trials; for with the increased demand for strength — you may confidently calculate upon an increased supply. Now you are looking, perhaps, at some great trouble in the distance, and you are feeling as if, when it arrives, that you must sink under it. Ah, you are estimating your power of endurance then, by what it is now; you are supposing that, with your present weakness, you are summoned to a more arduous encounter than you have hitherto met with, and you are mournfully anticipating an inevitable failure.

But do you not perceive that your conclusion is drawn from wrong premises? You will not have to grapple with increased difficulties, before you are able to surmount them. God will never call you to the fulfillment of any duty, nor the endurance of any trial — without having first provided for you sufficient strength for the occasion.

But the promised strength is daily strength, "As your days — so shall your strength be." You must not expect to have a large stock on hand which will last you for a long time; nor endeavor to make the strength of today suffice for the needs of tomorrow; but in every fresh period of conflict and suffering — you must seek for fresh strength from above. You cannot live upon past supplies — but you may safely rely upon present and future support. The spiritual aid which you require, will always be given at the right time.

Each day, each season of renewed solicitude — will bring with it its own appointed strength. It may be that you are advanced, not in years only — but also in Christian experience; still you must depend as perpetually and as entirely now upon the help of God — as you did at the commencement of your Christian life. Day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment — you must trust in him and look to him.

And the strength which he grants to his children is appropriate strength. "As your days — so shall your strength be." The days of the spiritual life are as varied as the days of the natural life. Sometimes they are bright with hope and prosperity; sometimes they are dark with disappointment and sorrow. There are days when our path lies through green and flowery meadows; and there are days when our road is through a tangled forest or along the edge of a precipice. At one time we have to toil up the Hill Difficulty; at another, to fight our way through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Now there is a beautiful adaptation in God's grace to the diversified circumstances of his people's history. Have you not found it to be so, dear reader? Have you not felt in your times of need, that there was an exact minuteness in God's gracious dealings with you — that there was a delicate adjustment in the bestowal of his varied gifts? Expect the same considerateness in his conduct still. Believe that the strength which he prepares for you is suitable, as well as sufficient.

What day is it with you now?

Is it the day of physical infirmity? Is your health declining, your energy abating, your faculties one by one becoming impaired? Is yours the day so graphically described by the royal preacher, "When the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets." Ecclesiastes 12:3-5

Then remember God's promise, "Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you!" Isaiah 46:4. I will carry you — not leave you to bear up as you best can under the burden which old age brings with it — but uphold you with My own everlasting arm. I will help you to endure with cheerfulness and resignation, the pain which is occasioned by the decay of nature.

Is it the day of mental depression? The infirmities and sufferings of the body often affect the mind. They cast a gloom over the spirits and throw a shadow over our prospects. We are discomposed and disheartened by trifles; we are frightened at shadows. All around us and before us looks dark and gloomy. Well, there is One who knows our frame, and remembers that we are dust; and he can support and strengthen our disturbed and fearful spirits. We need not be ashamed to disclose to him our mental weakness; he feels for us all, nay, more than a father's tenderness; for as one whom his mother comforts, so will he comfort us. "He gives power to the faint; and to those who have no might — he increases strength."

Is it the day of spiritual conflict? Are you hindered in your endeavors to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus? Do your unseen enemies seem to increase? are their assaults more malignant? and is your own heart inclined to yield to temptation? The great adversary of mankind is sometimes permitted to attack with unusual violence, the soul of the aged Christian. Sins which the believer imagined were long since subdued, rise up as it were into new life. Thoughts and feelings utterly at variance with his renewed mind, seem almost forced upon him; and the fiery darts of the wicked one are hurled at him without intermission.

Is this painful experience yours? Be not alarmed or discouraged by it. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tempted above that which you are able to bear; but he will strengthen you for your last struggle with a disappointed and already vanquished foe. Clad in the panoply which God provides for you, and furnished with those weapons which through him are mighty to repel and overcome your spiritual enemies — you shall be enabled to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. It is true that you are weak — but his strength is perfected in weakness. It is true that your infirmities are many — but his power rests upon you. Fear not; look to the Captain of your salvation; follow his directions; rely upon his assistance, and you shall at last be "more than conqueror through him that loved you!"

Is it the day of temporal distress? Are you poor? Are you in need of the necessities, or the comforts of life? Are you incapable of supporting yourself by the labor of your hands, and obliged to depend on the charity of others? Or are those dear to you, in adversity? are you obliged to witness sufferings that you cannot alleviate, and to hear of troubles which you can neither remove nor lighten? Or have you been bereaved of some beloved relative, some cherished friend, with whom you were associated in the closest union, and to whom you looked for sympathy and affection.

Are these, or similar afflictions, the crosses which you have to take up and carry — and do you tremble beneath their weight? Then cast your burden upon the Lord — and he will sustain you. He will strengthen your faith to believe that these mysterious dispensations are necessary for your real welfare. He will strengthen your love to receive with meekness and gratitude, the discipline of a kind and tender Father. He will strengthen your hope to anticipate those glorious things which are unseen and eternal, and to reckon your present sufferings as unworthy of a moment's comparison with "the glory which shall be revealed."

But there is one day rapidly approaching when you will pre-eminently require the support and comfort of an Almighty hand — the day of death. Ah! that is a solemn day even to the believer. A darkness, a mystery rests upon our last conflict which excites feelings of seriousness and awe in all thoughtful minds. And when there is great sensitiveness of temperament and timidity of disposition, the Christian often shrinks painfully from the contemplation of death, and through fear of it, is perhaps all his life-time subject to bondage. But why should you fear the approach of the last enemy? If God promises that as your day — your strength shall be, then surely he will make that promise good in the day of your mortal agony. When you pass through the dark valley, he will be with you; his rod and staff will guide and comfort you. When heart and flesh shall faint and fail, he will be the strength of your heart and your portion forever.

A young Christian once said to a minister, "Although I trust implicitly in the Savior, and rejoice in him as mine, yet I look upon death as very terrible." At that time she was in perfect health. The reply was, "Doubt not that, according to his sure Word, 'As your days — so shall your strength be;' and that there shall be dying grace for a dying day." Not long after, mortal sickness seized her — but her "peace flowed like a river;" and again and again, as her fond mother and loving sisters watched by her bed of suffering, did she exclaim, "Oh, how true do I find the assurance given me, that there would be dying grace for a dying day!"

And then, there is the day of final judgment — that last day when all the dead shall be gathered around the great white throne of the Eternal, and hear from his lips the irreversible sentence which shall fix their everlasting destiny. Oh, the unutterable momentousness of that solemn verdict! How will you have courage to listen to it? How will you stand with any calmness before that solemn judgment-seat, and hear the records of the past and the awards of the future? Ah, strength shall be given you in that trying hour — strength so unfailing and so indomitable that you shall meet without fear the scrutiny of him who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. The sweet assurance will then be yours that to those who are in Christ Jesus there is, there can be — no condemnation; that, clothed in the robe of his righteousness, and sanctified by the grace of his Spirit, you are faultless in God's sight. Who shall lay anything to your charge — when God himself will be your justifier!

Thus his blessed promise, "As your days — so shall your strength be," will never fail. Through life, in death, and before the judgment — it will be richly fulfilled in your experience. Oh, the comfort of feeling sure that, however wearisome and difficult the path of duty or of suffering may prove — God will impart to us adequate and appropriate strength, and guide us in safety to the Heavenly Canaan!

Dr. Doddridge was walking out one day in a very depressed state of mind. His trials were at that time peculiarly heavy; he saw no way of deliverance from them, and he was greatly discouraged. As he passed along, the door of a little cottage was standing open, and he heard a child's voice reading the words, "As your days — so shall your strength be." The effect produced upon his saddened feelings was indescribable; his despondency vanished, and his heart was filled with peace and joy.

Yes, one simple promise from God, is enough to chase our fears and cheer our hearts. Our wants and weaknesses are many — but he knows them all, and is both able and willing to supply our every need. Then let us "seek the Lord, and his strength;" let our earnest and constant petitions at the throne of grace be, "Give your strength unto your servant." "Strengthen me according unto your Word." For it is those who wait upon the Lord, who shall renew their strength. "Wait," then, "on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart!"

The faithfulness of his character, is your security for the fulfillment of his promises; for "the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent." "Has he said — and shall he not do it? or has he spoken — and shall he not make it good?" And his conduct to his people in past days is a pledge of his readiness to help them now; for he is "the same yesterday, and today, and forever." He has been a strength to the poor — a strength to the needy in his distress. He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." There should be no hesitation on our part to apply for the strength which we require, for there is no reluctance on God's part to communicate it. In his hand, it is to give strength to all. A sense of our weakness, and a cry for his aid — are the only pre-requisites for its bestowal.

But how is this strength imparted? It is the gift of God, and through grace, is laid hold of by faith. Faith is the hand which grasps and appropriates the promises, and thus fills the soul with an all-sustaining, all-conquering energy. The Holy Spirit, by whom all spiritual blessings are bestowed, brings to the Christian just the strength which he needs, and teaches him to embrace it by faith. That faith may be weak; but its efficacy depends upon the reality — not the degree of our faith; and, therefore, if we sincerely trust in God, through Christ, we may assuredly expect that the aid which we look for, and for which we supplicate, will be granted us. Yet, while it is true that the smallest amount of true faith forms, so to speak, a channel through which God's grace flows into our hearts, it is equally true that a stronger degree of faith is more honoring to God, while it would lead us to anticipate, and prepare us to receive, a far greater measure of Heavenly assistance than we now possess. "According to your faith," says the Savior, "be it unto you;" and, therefore, if we desire to run without weariness, to walk without fainting, and to mount up with wings as eagles towards our rest above — we should make the request of his disciples our own, "Lord, increase our faith."

Your "wanderings in the wilderness," reader, may be now drawing towards a close. It will, then, not be long before you will be called to pass over the river Jordan, that you may enter the promised land. Yet, as we have seen, new trials may have to be encountered in the last stages of your lengthened and perhaps wearisome journey. There is no immunity from sorrow — until you reach that blessed country, where God shall himself wipe away all tears, and give you that fullness of joy which is inseparable from his presence. But, remember, aged Christian, the promise, "As your days — so shall your strength be," and hold the beginning of your confidence steadfast unto the end. As you think of the evening of life, the night of death, and the solemnities of the last judgment, resolve with the Psalmist, "I will go in the strength of the Lord God! I will make mention of your righteousness, even of yours alone!" So shall you go on from strength to strength, until you appear in Zion before your God!

Ministry to the Lord

Ministry to the Lord By Watchman Nee       Let us note at the outset that there is little apparent difference between ministry to the House of the Lord and ministry to the Lord Himself. Many of you are doing your utmost to help your brethren, and you are labouring to save sinners and administer the affairs of the church. But let me ask you: Have you been seeking to meet the need around you, or have you been seeking to serve the Lord? Is it your fellow men you have in view, or is it Him?       Let us be quite frank. Work for the Lord undoubtedly has its attractions for the flesh. You may be thrilled when crowds gather to hear you preach, and when numbers of souls are saved. If you have to stay at home, occupied from morning to night with mundane matters, then you think: How meaningless life as! How grand at would be if I could go out and serve the Lord! If only I were free to go around ministering! But that is not spirituality. That is merely a matter of natural preference. Oh, if only we could see that much of the work done for God is not really ministry at all! He, Himself, has told us chat there was a class of Levites who busily served in the Temple, and yet they were not serving Him; they were merely serving the House. However, service to the Lord and service to the House appear so much alike that it is often difficult to differentiate between the two.       If an Israelite came along to the Temple and wanted to worship God, those Levites would come to his aid and help him offer his peace offering and his burnt offering. They would help him drag the sacrifice to the altar, and they would slay it. Surely that was a grand work to be engaged in, reclaiming sinners and leading believers closer to the Lord! And God took account of the service of those Levites who helped men bring their peace offerings and their burnt offerings to the altar. Yet He said it was not ministry to Himself.       Brothers and sisters, there is a heavy burden on my heart that you might realise what God is after. He wants ministers who will minister to Him. "They shall come near to me to minister unto me; and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood. They shall minister unto me" (Ezekiel 44:15).       The thing I fear most is that many of you will go out and win sinners to the Lord and build up believers, without ministering to the Lord Himself. Much so-called service for Him is simply following our natural inclinations. We have such active dispositions that we cannot bear to stay at home, so we run around for our own relief. We may appear to be serving sinners, or serving believers, but all the while we are serving our own flesh.       I have a dear friend who is now with the Lord. One day, after we had a time of prayer together, we read this passage in Ezekiel (44:9-26, 28, 31 ). She was very much older than I, and she addressed me like this: "My young brother, it was twenty years ago that I first studied this passage of Scripture."       "How did you react to it?" I asked.       She replied: "As soon as I had finished reading it, I closed my Bible, and kneeling down before the Lord, I prayed: 'Lord, make me to be one who shall minister to You, not to the Temple."' Can we also pray that prayer?       But what do we really mean when we talk of serving God or serving the Temple? Here is what the Word says:       But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me; and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the LORD God (Ezekiel 44:15).       The conditions basic to all ministry that can truly be called ministry to the Lord are drawing near to Him and standing before Him. But how hard we often find it to drag ourselves into His presence! We shrink from the solitude, and even when we do detach ourselves physically, our thoughts still keep wandering outside. Many of us can enjoy working among people, but how many of us can draw near to (God in the Holy of Holies? Yet it is only as we draw near to Him that we can minister to Him.   To come into the presence of God and kneel before Him for an hour demands all the strength we possess. We have to be violent to hold that ground. But everyone who serves the Lord knows the preciousness of such times, the sweetness of waking at midnight and spending an hour in prayer, or waking very early in the morning and getting up for an hour of prayer before the final sleep of the night.       Unless we really know what it is to draw near to God, we cannot know what it is to serve Him. It is impossible to stand afar off and still minister to Him. We cannot serve Him from a distance. There is only one place where ministry to Him is possible and that is in the Holy Place. In the outer court you approach the people; in the Holy Place you approach the Lord.       The passage we ' have quoted emphasises not only our need to draw near to God; it also speaks of standing before Him to minister. Today we always want to be moving on; we cannot stand still. There are, so many things claiming our attention that we are perpetually on the go. We cannot stop for a moment.       But a spiritual person knows how to stand still. He can stand before God till God makes His will known. He can stand and await orders. You who are leaders need to particularly consider this. Can you be persuaded to call a halt and not move for a little while? That is what is referred to here: "stand and minister unto me." Don't you think that a servant should await his master's orders before seeking to serve him?  The Sin of presumption

A gracious taste

(Arthur Pink, "The Attributes of God")

"Do not be foolish, but understand what the
 Lord's will is."  Ephesians 5:17

How may the Lord's guidance be expected? 

In general, God directs His people by affording them,
in answer to prayer, the light of His Holy Spirit, which
enables them to understand and love the Scriptures.
The Word of God furnishes us with just principles, right
apprehensions, to govern our judgments and affections,
thereby influencing and regulating our conduct. Those
who study the Scriptures in humble dependence upon
divine teaching, are convinced of their own weakness.
They are taught to make a true estimate of everything
around them and are gradually formed into a spirit of
submission to the will of God. They discover the nature
and duties of their situations and relations in life, and
the snares and temptations to which they are exposed.
The Word of God dwelling in them is . . .
  a preservative from error,
  a light to their feet, and
  a spring of strength and consolation.

By treasuring up in his mind the doctrines, precepts,
promises, exhortations, and warnings of Scripture; and
by diligently comparing himself with the rule by which
he is to walk—the Christian grows into a habitual frame
of spiritual wisdom. He acquires  a gracious taste which
enables him to judge of right and wrong with a degree of
readiness and certainty—as a musical ear judges sounds;
so that he is rarely mistaken, because he is influenced by
the love of Christ which rules in his heart, and a regard
for the glory of God. Moreover, God has promised to show
Himself strong on behalf of the one whose heart is perfect
toward Him. He does this by regulating His providences,
and causing all things to work together for his good.

Our daily walk is to be ordered by God's Word. In
proportion as it is so, we will be kept in His will and
preserved from folly and sin.

A peculiar, indescribable, invincible power

(Philpot, "The Word of Men and the Word of God") "Our gospel did not come to you in word only,  but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and  with deep conviction." 1 Thes. 1:5 The gospel comes to some in word only. They hear the word of the gospel, the sound of truth; but it reaches the outward ear only—or if it touches the inward feelings, it is merely as the word of men. But where the Holy Spirit begins and carries on His divine and saving work, He attends the word with a peculiar, an indescribable, and yet an invincible power. It falls as from God upon the heart. He is heard to speak in it—and in it His glorious Majesty appears to open the eyes, unstop the ears, and convey a message from His own mouth to the soul. Some hear the gospel as the mere word of men, perhaps for years before God speaks in it with a divine power to their conscience. They thought they understood the gospel—they thought they felt it—they thought they loved it. But all this time they did not see any vital distinction between receiving it as the mere word of men, and as the word of God. The levity, the superficiality, the emptiness stamped upon all who merely receive the gospel as the word of men—is sufficient evidence that it never sank deep into the heart, and never took any powerful grasp upon their soul. It therefore never brought with it any real separation from the world—never gave strength to mortify the least sin—never communicated power to escape the least snare of Satan—was never attended with a spirit of grace and prayer—never brought honesty, sincerity, and uprightness into the heart before God—never bestowed any spirituality of mind, or any loving affection toward the Lord of life and glory. It was merely the reception of truth in the same way as we receive scientific principles, or learn a language, a business, or a trade. It was all . . .   shallow,   superficial,   deceptive,   hypocritical. But in some unexpected moment, when little looking for it, the word of God was brought into their conscience with a power never experienced before. A light shone in and through it which they never saw before . . .   a majesty,   a glory,   an authority,   an evidence accompanied it which they never knew before. And under this light, life, and power they fell down, with the word of God sent home to their heart. When then Christ speaks the gospel to the heart— when He reveals Himself to the soul—when His word, dropping as the rain and distilling as the dew, is received in faith and love—He is embraced as the chief among ten thousand and the altogether lovely one—He takes His seat upon the affections and becomes enthroned in the heart as its Lord and God. Is there life in your bosom? Has God's power attended the work? Is the grace of God really in your heart? Has God spoken to your soul? Have you heard His voice, felt its power, and fallen under its influence? "And we also thank God continually because,  when you received the word of God, which you  heard from us, you accepted it not as the word  of men, but as it actually is, the word of God,  which is effectually at work in you who believe."     1 Thes. 2:13

Dig into these golden mines!

(Robert Leighton)


Let this commend the Scriptures much to our diligence 
and affection--that their great theme is our Redeemer, 
and redemption wrought by Him. They contain the doctrine 
of His excellencies, and are the lively picture of His matchless 
beauty. Were we more in them, we would daily see more of 
Him in them--and so of necessity love Him more. But we 
must look within them--the letter is but the case--the
spiritual sense is what we should desire to see. 

We usually huddle them over, and see no further than 
their outside, and therefore find so little sweetness in 
them. We read them, but we don't search them as He 
requires. Would we dig into these golden mines, we 
would find treasures of comfort which cannot be spent, 
but which would furnish us in the hardest times!

"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands
 within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your
 heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and
 cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for
 silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you
 will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge
 of God." Proverbs 2:1-5