Why We Pray. Spurgeon

 

24 years

 Adoniram Judson spent 24 years translating the Burmese Bible. In this month's magazine, you'll read stories of how we carry on his work today by smuggling Bibles into Myanmar (formerly Burma).

Everything from God's Hands

"To take everything from God’s hands, and to trust everything in God’s hands, is a happy way of living, and very helpful to prayer." - Charles Spurgeon

Expressing Prayer - Samuel Rutherford

 All my ways of expressing prayer are imperfect. In God’s book, a look toward heaven or an uplifting of the eyes is set down as prayer: In the morning will I direct my prayer unto You, and will look up (Ps. 5:3). What is prayer but a pouring out of the soul to God. Faith will find another outlet if one be stopped. Feeling breaks out in looks when voice is lacking, just as smoke pours out of the windows when the door is shut. Dying Stephen looked up to heaven by the window of the soul to give notice that a poor friend was on his way, and that was prayer enough.

~ Samuel Rutherford

All Things Working For Good

 

Our Best is Far From Perfect

 

Faith Doesn't Save Us

 

Grace will Spring Up

 "Grace does not lie as a sleepy habit in the soul, but will put forth itself in vigorous and glorious actings. Grace can no more be concealed, than fire. Grace does not lie in the heart as a stone in the earth—but as seed in the earth. It will spring up into good works!" - Thomas Watson

He Works In Us

 

How Does God View His People

 How does God view His people?

“in Christ” (38 times) “in Christ Jesus” (51 times) “in him” (21 times) “in the Lord” (44 times) and other similar expressions no less than 216 times.

Confounded with Shame

 

Christ Prizeth Him More

 

Saves Completely

 When He saves, He saves completely, He removes the curse, restores access and power with God, renews the divine image upon the soul, and thus reclaims the rebel and teaches him reverence, love and serve the God of his life. ~ John Newton

WCF: Man's Will.

 I. God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that is neither forced, nor by any absolute necessity of nature determined, to good or evil.

II. Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that which is good and well-pleasing to God; but yet mutably, so that he might fall from it.

III. Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.

IV. When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, he frees him from his natural bondage under sin, and by his grace alone, enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good; yet so as that, by reason of his remaining corruption, he doth not perfectly nor only will that which is good, but doth also will that which is evil.

V. The will of man is made perfectly and immutably free to do good alone in the state of glory only.

WCF. (post inspired by Monergism).

We need Bruising

 “After conversion we need bruising so that reeds may know themselves to be reeds, and not oaks. Even reeds need bruising, by reason of the remainder of pride in our nature, and to let us see that we live by mercy. Such bruising may help weaker Christians not to be too much discouraged, when they see stronger ones shaken and bruised…. The heroic deeds of those great [Bible] worthies do not comfort the church so much as their falls and bruises do….. Hence we learn that we must not pass too harsh judgment upon ourselves or others when God exercises us with bruising upon bruising. There must be a conformity to our head, Christ, who ‘was bruised for us’ (Isaiah 53:5) that we may know how much we are bound unto Him.” ~The Bruised Reed, Richard Sibbes (Puritan Paperbacks, page 5)

God uses the Hidden Saint

 Satan wishes to keep the children of God in a sad, and perplexed state, because he hates Christians, and cannot devour their faith, nor pluck them out of the hand of God.

As long as Satan has a child of God confused as to whether they are true believers or just deceiving themselves, he will have them in a constant state of misery, and put off of many of their Christian duties.

It is very difficult for a person to enjoy Christ, rejoice in Him, commune with Him, fellowship with the saints, pray and meditate on His word without vain interruptions, and many other ordinances when they are not even sure if they are just bringing a greater judgment on themselves by deceiving themselves as false believers or not.

And one of Satan’s ways of keeping a child of God in this confused and sad state is by having them compare their portion or degree of faith with a person in the body who appears to have a significantly greater portion or degree of faith, and then says “your faith is not like their faith, and so your faith is not a true faith. They stand firm in the same afflictions and temptations where you stumble and sin. You are not just weak, you are a phony.”

But, we must keep in mind that God distributes His grace to each Christian at the measure He sees fit (Ephesians 4:7), and gives each person a different portion of faith (Romans 12:3), just as He does with knowledge and wisdom, and so on. All for His glory.

A light from a candle may not be as bright as the light of a bonfire, but it is still light. We would not let Satan tell us the candle has no light just because it isn’t as bright as the bonfire, and we should not believe him when comparing weaker faith to greater portions of faith.

Our reply should be “Yes, my faith may only appear to be the size of a mustard seed right now, but my great God planted it in me, and He didn’t do so in vain. It is small, but sincere and equally as true and saving as the faith the size of an entire mustard tree.” --Joshua Arnold

A notion of God commensurate

 

If we could have thoughts of him, as high and excellent as his nature; our conceptions must be as infinite as his nature. All our imaginations of him cannot represent him, because every created species is finite; it cannot therefore represent to us a full and substantial notion of an infinite being. We cannot speak or think worthily enough of him, who is greater than our words, vaster than our understandings. No creature, nor all creatures together, can furnish us with such a magnificent notion of God, as can give us a clear view of him.  Yet God in his word is pleased to step below his own excellence, and point us to those excellences in his works, whereby we may ascend to the knowledge of those excellences which are in his nature. But the creatures, whence we draw our lessons being finite, and our understandings being finite, it is utterly impossible to have a notion of God commensurate to the immensity and spirituality of his being. --Charnock

Pronounces People "Just"

The glory of the gospel is that God pronounces people “just” while they are still sinners. —R.C. Sproul

WE CANNOT STAND ONE MOMENT

So many are those difficulties, discouragements, diversions and hinderances, which we have to wrestle with, and overcome in the way to heaven, (Acts 14:22) that except we be underpropped and strengthened by God’s almighty power, we cannot stand one moment, and much less advance in our Christian course. James Fergusson.

Hostility to Holiness

 

Eloquent; yet, regarding the lowly.

 Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners for to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receives sinners, and eats with them. ~Luke 15:1, 2

"Never was there a tongue like Christ's — so learned, so eloquent, and so skilled. 'Never man spoke like this man.' Greece and Rome, in their 'high and palmy state,' never exhibited such philosophy as He taught, such erudition as He displayed, or such eloquence as He breathed. Had He so chosen it, He could have placed Himself al the head of a school of His own, and with a beck might have allured to His feet all the poets and the philosophers of His day, proud to own Him as their Master.

"But no! The wisdom and the eloquence of this world possessed no charm for Jesus. He drew the learning and the melting power with which He spoke from a higher, even a heavenly, source. His was Divine philosophy; His was the eloquence of God! 'The Lord Jehovah has given me the tongue of the learned.'

"And to whom did He consecrate this learning, this wisdom, and this eloquence? To the very objects whom the proud philosophers and the doctors of His day despised and neglected — even the weary. What a field was here for the exercise of His skill, and for the play of His benevolence! How fully would he demonstrate that He truly possessed the 'tongue of the learned'!

"If to interest the feelings of the exhausted — if to enchain the attention of the weary — if to concentrate upon one subject the powers of a mind jaded and burdened — if to awaken music from a heart whose chords were broken and unstrung, mark the loftiest reach of eloquence, then His was eloquence unsurpassed — for all this He did.

"The beings whom He sought out, and drew around Him, were the burdened, the bowed, the disconsolate, the poor, the friendless, the helpless, the ignorant, the weary. He loved to lavish upon such the fullness of His benevolent heart, and to exert upon such the skill of His wonder-working power.

"Earth's weary sons repaired to His out-stretched arms for shelter, and the world's ignorant and despised clustered around His feet, to be taught and blessed. Sinners of every character, and the disconsolate of every grade, attracted by His renown, pressed upon Him from every side.

"'This man receives sinners,' was the character and the mission by which He was known. It was new and strange. Uttered by the lip of the proud and disdainful Pharisee, it was an epithet of reproach, and an expression of ridicule.

"But upon the ear of the poor and wretched outcast, the sons and daughters of sorrow, ignorance, and woe, it fell sweeter than the music of the spheres. It passed from lip to lip, it echoed from shore to shore — 'This man receives sinners.'

"It found its way into the abodes of misery and want; it penetrated the dungeon of the prisoner and the cell of the maniac; and it kindled a celestial light in the solitary dwelling of the widow and the orphan, the unpitied and the friendless.

"Thus received its accomplishment the prophecy that predicted Him as the 'Plant of renown,' whom Jehovah would raise up. Thousands came, faint, weary, and sad, and sat down beneath His shadow; and thousands more since then have pressed to their wounded hearts the balsam that exuded from His bleeding body, and have been healed." ~Octavius Winslow, Evening Thoughts, March 10

Turn your Families into Churches

“Turn your families into little churches.” -Matthew Henry

NOT STORMS

 

Hidden Fault

 What is your hidden fault? Bring it out into the daylight; perhaps it will die in the light of the sun. These things love to be hidden. Tell your own conscience now, what is it? Look it in the eye; confess it before God, and may he give you grace to remove that sin and every other, and turn to him with full purpose of heart! Geoff Thomas.

DESERVE THE GALLOWS

 If the sins known to my heart were published to the world, I would deserve the gallows. To be sure, the world now respects me. But if it really knew me, it would spit on me. Martin Luther

“No one among us would like to see his true history inscribed on his forehead. . . . If the sins known to my heart were published to the world, I would deserve the gallows. To be sure, the world now respects me. But if it really knew me, it would spit on me; for I would deserve beheading.” – Martin Luther, Luther’s Works 22:403

LOVE FLOWS FORTH

 Christ adds not one drop of love to God's heart, only draws it out, and makes it flow forth. -- Thomas Goodwin

LIFE IS SHORT

Your life is short, your duties many, your assistance great, and your reward sure. Therefore faint not, hold on and hold up, in ways of well-doing, and Heaven shall make amends for all! (Thomas Brooks)

REST IS A GIFT FROM GOD

 Rest is a gift from God. We should embrace physical and spiritual rest as much as we embrace productivity and fruitfulness. Embracing rest is a godly and righteous activity. Nick Batzig.

Over-Rule Even Our Mistakes

 We serve a gracious Master, who knows how to over-rule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage. John Newton.

To know that nothing hurts the godly, is a matter of comfort; but to be assured that all things which fall out shall co-operate for their good, that their crosses shall be turned into blessings, that showers of affliction water the withering root of their grace and make it flourish more; this may fill their hearts with joy till they run over. —Thomas Watson

Dairy Maid

 "A dairymaid can milk cows to the glory of God."

~ Martin Luther Powerful quote from Mike Reeves: God has torn the temple curtain, and nothing you do can mend it! Translation while addressing God's people: Your sins cannot separate you from God.

Great Compilation

“Love makes duty a pleasure.” — Thomas Watson

Oh, courage, courage, Christian, in all your sorrows—Christ will win you back that glorious happiness which Adam lost for you. --Charles Spurgeon

Anyone who has come to feel the Father’s love towards us will be able to bear all the misfortune that there may be on earth. -- Martin Luther

Time is short. Eternity is long. It is only reasonable that this short life be lived in the light of Eternity. - Charles Spurgeon

“Whatever man may stand, whatever he may do, to whatever he may apply his hand - in agriculture, in commerce, and in industry, or his mind, in the world of art, and science - he is, in whatsoever it may be, constantly standing before the face of God. He is employed in the service of his God. He has strictly to obey his God. And above all, he has to aim at the glory of his God.”

― Abraham Kuyper

“The curse should no longer rest upon the world itself, but upon that which is sinful in it, and instead of monastic flight from the world the duty is now emphasized of serving God in the world, in every position in life.” ― Abraham Kuyper "Faith is not our savior. It was not faith that was born at Bethlehem and died on Golgotha for us. It was not faith that loved us, and gave itself for us; that bore our sins in its own body on the tree; that died and rose again for our sins. Faith is one thing, the Savior is another. Faith is one thing, and the cross is another. Let us not confound them, nor ascribe to a poor, imperfect act of man, that which belongs exclusively to the Son of the Living God. Our security is this, that it matters not how poor or weak our faith may be: if it touches the perfect One, all is well. God has asked and provided a perfect righteousness; He nowhere asks nor expects a perfect faith. So a feeble, very feeble faith, will connect us with the righteousness of the Son of God; the faith, perhaps, that can only cry, ‘Lord, I believe; help mine unbelief.’" - Horatius Bonar Great thoughts of your sin alone will drive you to despair; but great thoughts of Christ will pilot you into the haven of peace. ~C.H. Spurgeon "The gospel will teach a man to feel sin and believe righteousness at the same time. Faith will carry heaven in one hand and hell in the other; showing one deserved and the other purchased." - John Owen The road to the Kingdom is not so pleasant, and comfortable, and easy, and flowery, as many dream. It is not a bright sunny avenue of palms. It is not paved with triumph, though it is to end in victory. The termination is glory, honor, and immortality; but on the way, there is the thorn in the flesh, the sackcloth, and the cross. Recompense later; but labor here! Rest later; but weariness here! Joy and security later; but here endurance and watchfulness – the race, the battle, the burden, the stumbling block, and oftentimes the heavy heart. - Horatius Bonar "I frequently hear persons exhorted to give their hearts to Christ...But that is not the Gospel. Salvation comes from something that Christ gives you, not something that you give to Christ." ~Charles Spurgeon

"The main care and concern of our life should be to seek God. We should long for Him with all the affection of our hearts, and not find rest and peace anywhere except in Him alone."

~ Good Quote. A man cannot indulge in sin, and yet go to his bed with a quiet conscience; at least, if he can do so, this callousness is of itself a still greater evil. --CHS.

He gives us His obedience

 

Compilation Mega

 Christian, what bad news has Christ brought from heaven with him, that makes you walk with your arms folded and pensive countenance? To see a wicked man merry, or a Christian sad is alike uncomely. "A feast is made for laughter," says Solomon. I am sure God intended his people's joy in the feast of the Gospel; mourners were not to sit at God's table (Deut. 26:14).

Truly the saint's heaviness reflects unkindly upon God himself. We do not commend his cheer, if it does not cheer us. What saith the world? "The Christian's life is but a melancholy walk," thinks the carnal wretch, "it is a dry feast they sit at, where so little wine of joy is drunk." And will you confirm them in this their opinion, Christian? Shall they have your example to produce against Christ and his Word, which promises peace and joy to all that will come to this feast?...

Now will they believe 'tis good news indeed the Gospel brings, when they can read it in your cheerful lives; but when they observe Christians sad with this cup of salvation in their hands, truly they will suspect the wine in it is not so good as the preachers commend it... O Christians, let the world see you are not losers in your joy, since you have been acquainted with the Gospel; give them not cause to think by your uncomfortable walking, that when they become Christians, they must bid farewell to all joy, and resolve to spend their days in the hour of mourning.

--William Gurnall,

"This was the one who had reclined on Jesus' bosom at the supper . . . " John 21:20

The bosom of Jesus still pillows the head of the weary, loving disciple of the Lord. There is no real rest for the soul, but in Jesus.

Where should the Christ-loved, the Christ-loving disciple lean, with his sins and sorrows, with his weariness and want--but upon the bosom of his Lord? It is the place of repose, of faith, and of love.

There is room for you there amid the countless ones who fly to it for consolation, safety, and repose. Go and lean with your burden, your grief, and your sin--where the beloved disciple reclined; and you shall realize the blessedness of the oneness, confidence, and affection which exist between Jesus and all the disciples whom He loves. -- Octavius Winslow

The tenets of [the Christian life] seem paradoxes to carnal men; as first, that a Christian is the only freeman, and other men are slaves; that he is the only rich man, though never so poor in the world; that he is the only beautiful man, though outwardly never so deformed; that he is the only happy man in the midst of all his miseries.

—Richard Sibbes

‎"All promises are either Christ himself, or by Christ, or from Christ, or for Christ. All promises that ever were made to God's people, they were either of Christ Himself, when He was promised, or such as were promised for Christ."

- Richard Sibbes

"The sin of Adam did not make the condemnation of all men merely possible; it was the ground of their actual condemnation. So the righteousness of Christ did not make the salvation of men merely possible, it secured the actual salvation of thos for whom he wrought."

Charles Hodge

"The best teaching in the world is useless unless the Holy Spirit takes hold of it and applies it and opens our understanding to it, and gives it a deep lodging place in our whole being."

- Martyn Lloyd-Jones

God is the highest good of the reasonable creature. The enjoyment of Him is our proper; and is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Better than fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of any, or all earthly friends. These are but shadows; but the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean.” - Jonathan Edwards;

It is the principle of replacement. Every sinner quickly replaces awe of the Creator with awe of something in the creation. Paul David Tripp,

"If God has laid your sins upon the Son of His love, you may rest assured that He will never lay them a second time upon you; since, if Christ has borne them and atoned for them to Divine justice, they never again can be found." - Octavius Winslow

"Take away the knowledge of Christ, and a Christian is the most sad and melancholy creature in the world: again, let Christ but manifest himself, and dart the beams of his light into their souls, it will make them kiss the stake, sing in the flames, and shout in the pangs of death, as men that divide the spoil."

Flavel, John. The Works of John Flavel, 6 Vols. 1820.

When Jonathan Edwards became still and knew that God is God, the vision before his eyes was of an absolutely sovereign God, self-sufficient in himself and all-sufficient for his creatures, infinite in holiness, and therefore perfectly glorious—that is, infinitely beautiful in all his perfections. God’s actions therefore are never motivated by the need to meet his deficiencies (since he has none), but are always motivated by the passion to display his glorious sufficiency (which is infinite). He does everything that he does—absolutely everything—for the sake of displaying his glory.

Our duty and privilege, therefore, is to conform to this divine purpose in creation and history and redemption—namely, to reflect the value of God’s glory—to think and feel and do whatever we must to make much of God. Our reason for being, our calling, our joy is to render visible the glory of God. -- from Piper.

Daily Compilation

Are you in despair? It's because you are looking to your self. Look to Christ, in Him there is no despair. - (forgot who said).

"We have no power from God unless we live in the persuasion that we have none of our own." - John Owen

When things happen in my life that I don't understand, I find solace in the firm belief that..."God is protecting me from something." I don't know what it is, but I trust that these eventful weeks and months are all according to His wonderful plan for His glory and my good. -- (my testimony.)

The Church shall never perish!

Her dear Lord to defend,

To guide, sustain, and cherish,

Is with her to the end:

Though there be those who hate her,

And false sons in her pale,

Against both foe or traitor

She ever shall prevail.

Though with a scornful wonder

Men see her sore oppressed,

By schisms rent asunder,

By heresies distressed:

Yet saints their watch are keeping,

Their cry goes up, “How long?”

And soon the night of weeping

Shall be the morn of song!

Before it is called to do anything, the church is called to receive something-and not only once, but again and again: namely the announcement that even in its weakness, suffering, half-heartedness, and a legacy of faith stained by unfaithfulness, Christ is King. ~Michael Horton (The Gospel-Driven Life)

If we preach the whole counsel of God, we shall be accused of extremism, not only by the world but also by a professing church that cannot endure sound doctrine.

~~Vance Havner

Lead an Army to Battle

 

Preach the Word

 From Don Green:

In days of strength, preach the Word.

In days of weakness, preach the Word.

In days of joy, preach the Word.

In days of sorrow, preach the Word.

When people come, preach the Word.

When people go, preach the Word.

When men praise you, preach the Word.

When men slander you, preach the Word.

When prosperity blesses, preach the Word.

When poverty humbles, preach the Word.

When the church grows, preach the Word.

When the church splits, preach the Word.

In elder unity, preach the Word.

In elder conflict, preach the Word.

When the world listens, preach the Word.

When the world mocks, preach the Word.

With family near, preach the Word.

With family far, preach the Word.

When you feel like it, preach the Word.

When you don’t, preach the Word.

If people notice, preach the Word.

If people ignore, preach the Word.

When you feel the Spirit, preach the Word.

When you feel the devil, preach the Word.

When you remember Jesus, preach the Word.

When you remember Judas, preach the Word.

By the crib, preach the Word.

By the grave, preach the Word.

When sinners repent, preach the Word.

When sinners rebel, preach the Word.

With youthful strength, preach the Word.

With dying breath, preach the Word.

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Collection

 God is not troubled by anything that is now taking place in His world - either in its political, social, or religious sphere; nor should we be troubled. The helm is still in His hand; and Satan himself cannot so much as touch a hair of our heads, without His direct permission. ~A.W. Pink

"He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God, is poor in spirit" -Good Quote.

"Faith is the acknowledgment of the entire absence of all goodness in us, and the recognition of the cross as the substitute for all the want on our part. The whole work is His, not ours, from first to last."

Horatius Bonar

"Doctrinal rightness and rightness of ecclesiastical position are important, but only as a starting point to go on into a living relationship - and not as ends in themselves." Francis Schaeffer

"Indeed, the generality of men that are trained up in a Protestant country will tell you that they do not expect to be justified by their own righteousness, but by the righteousness of Christ. But alas! How few are there that do really and actually submit unto this righteousness. There is a cursed bias in the heart of man to lean to something in himself. Is not this the language of thy heart many times? O! If I had such a frame, such a melting of heart, such love, such a degree of humility and obedience, then I think God would accept of me, and love me on that account. But, Sirs, let me tell you, it is not on account of anything wrought in you, or done by you, but only on the account of the doing and dying of the Son of God.” Ebenezer Erskine

"It's the role of grace in sanctification that sometimes troubles us...People worry that emphasizing grace undermines obedience. Consistently preaching the necessity and the proper motivation for holiness may be the most difficult task evangelical preachers face because we culturally define grace as license rather than the biblical power of holiness...Grace is the power of obedience not the antidote to obedience." Bryan Chapell;

We are good marketers and good moralists, but too often we are shallow theologians. - David Clotfelter-

The man who is trying to be a Christian is trying to hold on to something. The man who is a Christian feels that he is being held by something. It has been put to him, it is there; it may even seem to be in spite of him, but it is there. It is not what he is doing that matters to him; it is what has been done to him, it is what he has become, it is the awareness of this power within him -- life." - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"We shall never be fit for service of God, if we look not beyond this fleeting life"- Good Quote.

Compilation

 Happy were it, if puzzled and perplexed Christians would turn their eyes from the defects that are in their obedience, to the fullness and completeness of Christ's obedience; and see themselves complete in Him, when most lame and defective in themselves. - John Flavel,

"The study of truth in its academic more than in its devotional form has robbed it of its freshness and power, engendering formality and coldness." ~ Horatius Bonar

"O for a better heart! O for a heart to love God more; to hate sin more; to walk more evenly with God. Lord! deny not to me such a heart; whatever thou deny me: give me a heart to fear thee, to love and delight in thee, if I beg my bread in desolate places." ~John Flavel

[Christ] is the head of the whole world by way of dominion, but a head to the Church by way of union... - Flavel

If we try to get up warm feelings and good dispositions in order to remove some fancied remainder of distance, we shall fail; not simply because these actings of ours cannot do what we are trying to do, but because there is no need of any such effort. The thing is done already. God has brought his righteousness nigh to the sinner. Horatius Bonar

Grant me never to lose sight of The exceeding sinfulness of sin, The exceeding righteousness of salvation, The exceeding glory of Christ, The exceeding beauty of holiness, The exceeding wonder of grace.

~The Valley Of Vision~Prayers of the Puritans ;

Which is more important. A. Someone visiting your blog or FB post; B. God visiting your prayer-closet.

All our thoughts concerning Christ and his glory should be accompanied with admiration, adoration, and thanksgiving. For this is such an object of our thoughts and affections as, in this life, we can never fully comprehend,—an ocean whose depths we cannot look into. If we are spiritually renewed, all the faculties of our souls are enabled by grace to exert their respective powers towards this glorious object. ~John Owen

Sorrow Devotional from Gracegems

 When a holy and beloved object of our affection is removed by death, we ought to sorrow--humanity demands it, and Christianity, in the person of the weeping Jesus, allows it. The man without a tear, is a savage or a stoic--but not a Christian.

God intends when He bestows His gifts, that they should be received with smiles of gratitude; and when He recalls them, that they should be surrendered with "drops of sacred grief." Sorrow is an affection implanted by the Creator in the soul for wise and beneficent purposes; and it ought not to be ruthlessly torn up by the roots, but directed in its exercise by reason and piety.

The work of grace, though it is above nature--is not against it. The man who tells me not to weep at the grave--insults me, mocks me and wishes to degrade me! Tears are the silent, pure, sincere testimony of my heart to the excellence of the gift He gave in mercy; and in mercy, no doubt, as well as judgment, He has recalled.

But then, though we mourn, we must not murmur. We may sorrow, but not with the violent and uncontrolled grief of the heathen who have no hope. Our sorrow may flow as deep as we like--but noiseless and still in the channels of submission.

It must be a sorrow so quiet as to hear all the words of consolation which our Heavenly Father utters amidst the gentle strokes of His rod.

It must be a sorrow so reverential as to adore Him for the exercise of His prerogative in taking away what and whom He pleases.

It must be a sorrow so composed as to prepare us for doing His will, as well as bearing it.

It must be a sorrow so meek and gentle as to justify Him in all His dispensations.

It must be a sorrow so confiding as to be assured that there is as much love in taking the mercy away, as there was in bestowing it.

It must be a sorrow so grateful as to be thankful for the mercies left, as well as afflicted for the mercies lost.

It must be a sorrow so trustful as to look forward to the future with hope.

It must be a sorrow so patient as to bear all the aggravations that accompany or follow the bereavement, with unruffled acquiescence.

It must be a sorrow so holy as to lift the prayer of faith for divine grace to sanctify the stroke.

--John Angell James

If you could but see

 If you could but see how God in his secret counsel has exactly laid the whole plan of your salvation, even to the smallest means and circumstances; had you liberty to make your own choice, you would, of all conditions in the world, choose that in which you now are. -- John Flavel