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| 1. | 1 Timothy |
| The Epistles to Timothy and Titus have naturally a peculiar bearing and character, being addressed to per-sons deputed by the apostle to act in his name, or to care for the Churches during his absence. Their application to us is none the less direct on this account, because they not |
| 2. | 2 Chronicles 18 |
| In the declining days of the house of David, as we see in 2 Chron., the spirit of God occasionally visits. The Lord sends His prophets, " rising up early and sending them; " and those Prophets warned, and threatened, and counseled, " till there was no remedy," and |
| 3. | 2 Peter, A Few Thoughts on |
| In this epistle, the apostle, under the Holy Ghost, anticipates the moral corruption which was to overspread Christendom. Language and figures are largely employed to set forth this awful anticipation or prophecy; and surely our observations may well and fully vindicate the Spirit's forebodings. For what we know of such |
| 4. | 2 Timothy |
| The second Epistle to Timothy has a very peculiar character. It is the expression of his heart who, outside Palestine, had, under God, founded and built the Church of God on earth, and it was written in sight of its failure, and its departure from the principles on which he |
| 5. | Abraham's Consistency in Arming His Servants for the Rescue of Lot |
| IT has been a question which has been suggested to the writer of these lines, how it came that Abraham, whose course was in faith outside the circumstances around him, should arm his servants for the rescue of Lot? He did this also manifestly with the approval of God. |
| 6. | Christ's Coming to Receive Saints and Appearing in Glory With Them, Difference Between |
| IT has been supposed that the word of God affords very little, if any direct, proof in support of the idea of any real difference, and that all that can be offered in its favor is in the way of inference of a rather loose and uncertain character. |
| 7. | Conscience in the Light of God's Presence, The |
| The knowledge of our proper relationship with our gracious God, as Father, and of our calling and standing in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ,-the Heavenly Son of Man at God's right-hand,-necessarily goes far beyond all questions of conscience and exercises of soul in the children of God. Yet |
| 8. | Discipleship in an Evil Day |
| The first three chapters of the Book of Daniel furnish a most seasonable and important lesson at a time like the present, in which the disciple is in such danger of yielding to surrounding influences, and of lowering his standard of testimony and his tone of discipleship, in order to |
| 9. | Dying to Death |
| To a believer, death (his own death) is now, in point of fact, " dying to death "-" the ceasing to have to do with dying." I am quite aware that this statement may be startling, at first sight, to some-perhaps to many. But is it not Truth? |
| 10. | Ephesians 6:10-20, Notes on |
| 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:10-20)" Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."* Marvelous things had the Apostle Paul been opening up in his epistle to his beloved Ephesians. Rich things in divine counsels (chap. 1); marvelous ways in which those counsels were made good to |
| 11. | Fear of Death, The |
| "Want of subjection to God "-is, in every creature in whom it is found, Sin. I intentionally say, want of subjection, or the absence of subjection (i. e., non-subjection, which is negative); and I do not say insubjection: be-cause, to many minds, in-subjection would seem |
| 12. | Fellowship With Christ: 9. Glorified and Reigning Together With Him |
| There is sufficient connection between these two thoughts-Dominion and Glory-to incline the mind to look at them together. Let it, however, be remembered, that the Holy Ghost has not, in writing Scripture, been pleased to handle truths by subjects-taking (as man would have done) one topic after another, until all |
| 13. | Fragment: Bengel and Dying |
| " According to Bengel (born 1687), the Christian has not so much to wait for death as for the appearance of Jesus Christ, and the most important business for every man is to come from a state of sin into a state of grace, and afterward not to look for |
| 14. | Fragment: Death |
| Death worsts all flesh that comes under it! True; but faith worsts death itself. |
| 15. | Fragment: Expectations of the Apostles and the Intentions of God |
| What a difference between the expectations of the apostles (as expressed Acts 1), and the intentions of God! |
| 16. | Fragment: John 1:10; 12-13 |
| "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not ... As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name; which were born, not of blood, nor of |
| 17. | Fragment: Journey in the Wilderness |
| " And now his checkered and eventful course is past; but all before him is clear as crystal, and calm as the sea of glass. |
| 18. | Fragment: Life and Death |
| In Scripture, the terms "LIFE and DEATH" are used in various connections; and so in senses which differ. They are used as to the natural body; they are used, also, as to the moral inward state of man; and they are used as to man in his eternal state. Man, |
| 19. | Fragment: Revelation 22:10-15 |
| "And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: |
| 20. | Fragment: Sinners of Whom I Am Chief |
| " Sinners, of whom I am chief " (1 Tim 1:15). Had, ever, any other man such occasions as Saul? Jesus, killed on earth, had, from heaven, sent down the Holy Ghost. The Jews reject grace from Christ in heaven and the Holy Ghost sent down to earth too. And |
| 21. | Fragment: Understanding |
| "As saints, we are to have understanding as well as affections. Nothing marks our low estate more than the unintelligence of our prayers." |
| 22. | Fragments |
| 1. If the old Roman earth is to be formed again,- must not Austria be broken, so to speak, in half? |
| 23. | Fragments |
| 1. The Keys.-The key has, from of old, been the symbol of authority (Is. xx. 22) and power (Job 12:14 14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. (Job 12:14); Rev. 3:77 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; (Revelation 3:7)). In this sense, a mountain-pass, or a strait of the sea, is sometimes, even in modern language, called the key of a kingdom. Possess it, and |
| 24. | Fragments |
| " There are still Christians who believe that God in supreme love became a man, and so died for them in love:-that the first of duties, the truest affection-without which all others are vile-is to appreciate Him who did it as we ought; that the first of all obligations |
| 25. | Heaven |
| "The Heaven, even the heavens are for Jehovah; but the earth hath he given to the children of men." |
| 26. | Hebrews |
| The important nature of the Epistle to the Hebrews demands that we should examine it with peculiar care. It has its own very distinct place. It is not the presentation of Christian position in itself, viewed as the fruit of sovereign grace, and of the work and the resurrection of |
| 27. | House of God, the Body of Christ, and the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, The |
| You have asked of me some account of the historical development of a false notion on which I have often spoken, and already written, briefly, in the "Present Testimony." The practical importance of this notion had caused my mind to be occupied with it, and led me to entertain the |
| 28. | House of God, the Body of Christ, and the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, The |
| In essaying to accomplish the task which I had under-taken, of giving, in its main element at least, an historical view of the doctrines progressively held regarding the Church, the assembly of God, I was, I confess, hardly aware of the poverty of the resources to which I should be |
| 29. | I Bow Me to Thy Will, O God |
| I bow me to Thy will, O God~ |
| 30. | Let Us Hold Fast Our Profession |
| We all know, and acknowledge the value of having a fixed purpose, which gives a character to our life and ways. Our need demands a purpose, which promises to meet it sufficiently and perfectly; and the more distinctly the purpose is apprehended and embraced, the more all our acts must |
| 31. | Life |
| Life is a sacred thing. God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. Life belongs to God. Man lost it at the beginning, through disobedience, and it then returned to God. Adam as soon as he lost it, was taught to know that he |
| 32. | Manifestation of God |
| See Ex. 33; 34 John 1-10 |
| 33. | Philemon |
| 1 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlaborer, (Philemon 1)The very beautiful and interesting Epistle to Philemon does not require much comment: it is an expression of the love which works, by the Spirit, within the Church, in all the circumstances of individual life. |
| 34. | Position as Christians and Prayer in Relation to the Holy Spirit |
| It is of the utmost moment to all the people of God to ascertain whether the Holy Ghost has returned to heaven since Pentecost, and has to be sent again on every fresh occasion of blessing, or whether He remained, and still remains on earth with us, since that great |
| 35. | Sovereign Rights of God Respected; the Well-Being of Man Secured, The |
| The Revelation of God, in His Word, solves a problem which, more or less, has occupied mankind in all ages; but in our times, peculiarly so. The necessity of authority and the supremacy of rule, has been intuitively admitted. The source of it has been disputed. To whom power ought |
| 36. | Thoughts on Various Texts |
| 1.-The Volume Of The Book. Exodus 21:5,6 5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: 6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever. (Exodus 21:5-6); and Psalm 40:6-86 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. 7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, 8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. (Psalm 40:6-8). |
| 37. | Titus |
| The Epistle to Titus is occupied with the maintenance of order in the Churches of God. |
| 38. | Work of Grace for and in Man, The |
| "Then were there two thieves crucified with Him one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, |