| |
| 1. | 2 Corinthians 12, Notes of Readings: |
| IT is weakness that brings out the perfection of the position reached by this Epistle, and what it closes with. Weakness is really our blessing. We find it in Christ, who was perfect because He reached absolute weakness. There was no will with Him-not merely poverty. Power connects itself with |
| 2. | 2 Corinthians 8-9, Notes of Readings: |
| Instead of the sufferings of Christ, we find His poverty (v. 9), to which the ministry now conforms us, our place in the world. It is not a question of what a man possessed, but what he was himself (v. 2). It is an extraordinary thing to give beyond one's |
| 3. | Chime, A |
| I know I'm safe with Jesus, |
| 4. | Contentment |
| " I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content," is experience of the deepest order. I am sure Paul could not have said this at any other time of his life than when in his prison in Rome he was taught the wondrously blessed lesson that |
| 5. | Extract of a Letter |
| For several weeks I was much enjoying Romans the 7th and 8th. I never before saw so clearly the divine glory and blessedness of the place in which God puts us in Christ Jesus. There is nothing but sorrow until the soul knows this. And into groaning and wretchedness it |
| 6. | Extract of Letters |
| " Now you will like to hear of what the Lord has been giving us. Our prayer meeting was quiet and happy; Ex. 16 in connection with John 6 (middle part) was read. There must be an individual, personal feeding on Christ Himself, day by day, or |
| 7. | Extracts From Letters of Interest |
| " Oh what joy to know oneself united to Christ! It adds a joy untold to every sweetness. It is the source of it, too, surely. He is all to me, and for me. I work on till He call me; and though it would seem strange to me without |
| 8. | First Epislte of John, On the |
| This verse commences a profound subject. It introduces to the Divine nature. Having spoken of Jesus Christ come in the flesh, the Spirit ascends to His nature. and here it is necessarily abstract thought. This is natural. We must be more abstract in the description of a man's nature than |
| 9. | First Epistle of John, On the |
| The characteristics of John's Epistles, as we have before remarked, differ from those of Paul. In Paul's writings we have the subject of righteousness, in those of John we have moral deliverance-new life in Christ. We have not Churches addressed-as Galatia, Colosse, and Ephesians; but individuals in various circumstances, as |
| 10. | First Epistle of John, On the |
| We have before observed, that one leading blessed thought in the Epistle of John is this, that the breach made by Adam's fall is more than repaired in Christ. We have not here our judicial restoration, but our moral restoration. Paul gives us the judicial restoration, but John the moral. |
| 11. | First Epistle of John, On the |
| Was not Adam a son of God? Yes, he is so called. He lost this; are we to receive it? Yes, with advantage! Creation sonship, or the sonship of adoption-which is best? If my bad nature be not cured by the Gospel, I have got a new nature. It |
| 12. | First Epistle of John, On the |
| These first six verses form a very serious portion of Scripture. Another subject commences at the seventh verse, and between the two is a close and beautiful moral connection. Here I would say, what I meant by calling the Lord Jesus the moral representative of God, was, that He was |
| 13. | First Epistle of John, On the |
| We have anticipated v. 12. It teaches us not to sit as scholars, but as worshippers in the presence of the Divine glory-that impenetrable veil. " No man hath 'seen God at any time." Jesus said, " not that any man hath seen," etc. When Jesus says this, we can |
| 14. | First Epistle of John, On the |
| You will remember our having referred to the confession of Peter-" Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God." The Lord sealed this truth in Peter's soul, and He seals it still to the heart of every believing sinner. "Flesh and blood path not revealed it unto thee," |
| 15. | First Epistle of John, On the: Chapter 2 |
| As John proceeds in his Epistle, you can clearly perceive the spirit of personal application which characterizes it. He addresses not churches but individuals. Nor is his address ecclesiastical, but moral. This is great comfort; no discouragement around can touch the personal question. If the whole economy be gone to |
| 16. | Full Assurance of Faith, Hope, and Understanding |
| Full assurance of my salvation in Christ, and in the things freely given of God, is the longing desire of many. It is sad to meet many children of God groaning under a sense of uncertainty as to whether they are accepted of God or not; and yet the evidence-the |
| 17. | Full Assurance of Faith, of Hope, and of Understanding |
| How safe and calm one may be amidst the rough tossing of this world! How blessedly one can ride over its angry billows, sustained through every storm by the anchor which has been cast " within the veil," and " Hope " which has entered there. Do storms or tempests |
| 18. | Glory of His Grace, The |
| Oh the brightness of the glory |
| 19. | God in His Essence and Attributes |
| What is fundamental in speaking of attributes, is inherent in the very term itself. It is not the being in its essential nature, even though always found there, but what is rightly attributed to the being as such; and in speaking of God this is not without importance; and the |
| 20. | God's Precious Things |
| Our common moral sense of God will tell us that holiness and righteousness must be precious with Him. " Holiness becomes his house forever." Purity and truth, and the maintenance of all the cares of order and integrity, must be infinitely according to Him. The conscience will bear |
| 21. | Grace and Peace |
| It is exceedingly beautiful to mark the way of the Spirit in addressing believers. Knowing, as He does, all their faults and peculiarities, and having some rebuking things to say to them, yet He opens His remarks with these most precious words, " Grace and peace unto you." And who |
| 22. | Grace and Truth |
| It is said that the Lord is the truth. He is "the way, the truth, and the life;" and in this character He brings out the true nature of all things in every respect. He brings out what God Himself is, and what man is, in perfection, and in sin |
| 23. | Harvest Sheaf: a Hymn, The |
| Lev. 23:9-14 9 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the Lord. 13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savor: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (Leviticus 23:9-14); John 20:1717 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. (John 20:17). |
| 24. | Hymn |
| O God! through Christ we sing |
| 25. | Hymn |
| 1 Cor. 1:30, 31 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:30-31) |
| 26. | Hymn |
| Phil. 5:11. |
| 27. | Hymn to the Head of the Church |
| O what love was Thine, Lord Jesus, |
| 28. | In the Face of Jesus Beaming |
| Still a Man, though now in glory, |
| 29. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on |
| AT v. 26 we see that to serve Him means to follow Him; and if I walk with Him I will find myself at length with Him in glory. Parents are sometimes a hindrance in the way of following Jesus: they demand obedience, and it is true that we owe |
| 30. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 10 |
| If the Jews have rejected Christ, that does not hinder Him having His sheep; only God does not wish to have His sheep in their fold. He calls them out, as He has done the man born blind; and when they are outside, He goes before them to guide them. |
| 31. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 10 Continued |
| In the Church, notwithstanding there are true pastors, as was the Apostle Peter, to whom Jesus had confided His sheep, as was Peter, such also were others. In our days they are rare, but we ought to pray the great Shepherd of the sheep that He would raise them up |
| 32. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 11 |
| The two following chapters present to us Jesus-first, as Son of God, in the raising of Lazarus; then as Son of David, when He enters on the ass into Jerusalem; and thirdly, as Son of Man, when the Greeks are in His presence. The beauty of these two chapters consists |
| 33. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 11 |
| If Christ has been declared Son of God in power when He rose, so also shall we believers, who are sons of God, be publicly declared such when we rise. Then here we see how, with a single word of Christ, He destroyed the whole effects of sin; " Lazarus, |
| 34. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 12 |
| Mary, better than the rest, had understood the true position of Christ. She saw and felt the hatred of man to Him constantly increasing, and consequently that His death was not far distant. Then she spends everything she has most precious upon Jesus. Mary's love for Jesus increased in proportion |
| 35. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 13 |
| The Lord down here was ever a servant among His own, since He came to minister, not to be ministered unto; but now that He was about to depart, His disciples would have thought that He necessarily ceased to serve them. And Jesus, knowing that His hour was come that |
| 36. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 5 Continued |
| The twenty-fourth verse is very important. He who through faith in the Word believes in Him that sent Him has three things; 1st, he has eternal life; 2nd, he shall not come unto judgment; 3rd, he is passed from death unto life. |
| 37. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 6 |
| The miracle of the increase of the bread shows, according to Psa. 132:15 15 I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. (Psalm 132:15), that Jesus was truly Jehovah. The multitude seeing such a miracle, recognize Him as the Prophet, and further, they wish to make Him a King; but He refuses, and goes into a mountain in the character |
| 38. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 7 |
| In this chapter the important subject is the gift of the Holy Spirit, because the Lord, not being able to manifest Himself to the world, since He knew He was to be rejected and put to death, sends the Spirit (after He has been glorified), not, indeed, to the world, |
| 39. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 7 Continued |
| From verse 39 it is evident that one can be a believer and yet not have the Holy Spirit. Such was the case with all the saints of the Old Testament. Although true faith be distinct from the gift and indwelling of the Spirit, and that the first may exist |
| 40. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 8 |
| The Pharisees and the Scribes wanted to find out the Lord in error, and sought to make Him contradict either law or grace; and seeing that Jesus did not answer their question, they urge Him to pronounce a judgment. But Jesus takes their very law, which they wished to use |
| 41. | John's Gospel, Some Thoughts on: Chapter 9 |
| The Jews believed that judgment overtook all on earth; those who were good and obedient had every earthly blessing, and those who were wicked were punished here below for their sins. And therefore, the disciples thought that the blind man was punished either for his own sins or those of |
| 42. | Letters on Subjects of Interest |
| " You give me the following extract:-' When Jesus was crucified, and died, and was buried, God's Church was crucified, died, and was buried in Him; and when He was quickened, arose, and ascended, she was quickened, arose, and ascended in Him. If you see Him, you are of His |
| 43. | Letters on Subjects of Interest |
| 1. |
| 44. | Lord's Supper, The |
| Lord Jesus, we are gathered in Thy name, |
| 45. | Meat Offering, A |
| To Thee, O God, with joy we sing |
| 46. | My God My Salvation |
| God hath, as it were, made Himself over to believers. Job doth not say, God will give or bestow salvation upon me, but he saith, "He shall be my salvation." |
| 47. | My Lord Delayeth His Coming |
| Nothing can be more solemn, beloved friends, than the Lord's testimony here to His disciples (and it applies to us). If I look for the will of God being carried out anywhere, I must go, of course, where Christianity is. They are those who will be " beaten with many |
| 48. | My Lord Delayeth His Coming |
| You find two parables (Matt. 25) that treat this quite in a different way-the Virgins and the Talents; one, the state of affections; the other, the activities of service. Any- one can understand this. The Lord gives us Himself the character that He looks for and likes. We are |
| 49. | No Cross, No Crown |
| I have been looking at the conquerors in the Apocalypse., All are conquerors there, and their victories lead to the kingdom. As on the journey they were overcoming, so at the end they sit on thrones. In all the churches you see the saints as conquerors (chaps. |
| 50. | Notes of Readings: 2 Corinthians 10-11 |
| In the last chapters, the Apostle sought to produce liberality by the grace known in Christ. Here (ch. 10.) he puts down everything high by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. It is another instance of the immense power the Holy Ghost gains by presenting Christ, counting on something |
| 51. | Our Present Pathway |
| It does not at all follow that because we are at the Lord's table, according to 1 Cor. 10, we "discern the Lord's body," as unfolded in 1 Cor. 11 Neither is it inevitably the case that because we are Philadelphians in our confession, Laodicea may not describe |
| 52. | Present Service of the Lord Jesus 1, The: For His Saints |
| To minister, not to be ministered to, did the Son of Man come; and, though He accepted the ministrations of women (Luke 8:3 3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. (Luke 8:3)), and learned what it was as a man to be waited on in the wilderness (Mark 1:1313 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. (Mark 1:13)), and strengthened in the garden by angelic agency |
| 53. | Present Service of the Lord Jesus Christ 2, The: The Shepherd of the Sheep |
| Among the different titles descriptive of the Lord when on earth, there is one most attractive to the heart, suggestive as it is of care, labor, and watchfulness, undertaken on behalf of dependent creatures. The Prophet He was, and the Christ, the First-born of all creation too, as well as |
| 54. | Present Service of the Lord Jesus Christ 3, The: Bishop of Our Souls |
| "Ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls " (1 Peter 2:25 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. (1 Peter 2:25)). In two characters does the Apostle here present to us the Lord Jesus Christ, which, though closely connected, are yet to be distinguished. Having looked in a |
| 55. | Present Service of the Lord Jesus Christ 4, The: Washing Our Feet |
| On the fourteenth day of the month Abib, 1491 B.C., according to Ussher's chronology, the children of Israel kept their first passover, and commenced their march out of Egypt. They had cried by reason of their bondage, and God had heard (Ex. 2:23 23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. (Exodus 2:23)), and the arm of Jehovah was |
| 56. | Present Service of the Lord Jesus Christ 5, The: An Advocate With the Father |
| In considering what the Scriptures tell us of the present service of the Lord Jesus Christ, we find that the subject naturally divides itself into two parts-(1) Service rendered to us; (2) Service entered into for us. As the Shepherd of the sheep, as the Bishop of our souls, as |
| 57. | Present Service of the Lord Jesus Christ 6, The: Priest of Our Confession |
| From the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ we learn that He is the Shepherd of the sheep. From His words to Peter, and His lowly service on the night of his betrayal, we are taught what the Lord does to His people, that they may have part with Him. |
| 58. | Queries and Answers |
| " W."-" The second time" (Isa. 11:11 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (Isaiah 11:11)). If the future restoration of Israel is the "second time," what is the first? There is nothing about the return from the Babylonish captivity in Isaiah. |
| 59. | Queries and Answers |
| " W. T."-If the " appearing " of the Lord Jesus be not the immediate hope of the saints (instead of His descent into the air), in what sense could the Corinthians be said to be "waiting for" His "revelation," 1 Cor. 1:7 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: (1 Corinthians 1:7)? |
| 60. | Relationship |
| We can trace this subject from the beginning to the end of Scripture. |
| 61. | Romans 5:7 |
| The subjects treated in this part of the Romans are entirely distinct. The apostle here takes up the condition of man before God. You get his responsibility; first the guilt, and then the state, and after that comes another question-being delivered out of the state, not merely out of the |
| 62. | Sealing and Indwelling of the Spirit, The |
| I was asked to say a few words on the difference between the sealing of the Holy Ghost, and the indwelling of the Spirit. Just turn to the first chapter of the 2nd Corinthians. In the twenty-first verse you read: " Now he which stablisheth us with you |
| 63. | Some Thoughts on First Epistle of John |
| IN commencing this Epistle we must be prepared to meet with personal truth-no secrets about heavenly and earthly things, Jews or Gentiles. We do not find these things in John (of course I mean as the Holy Ghost speaks by John). But we have more primary matter; the most intense |
| 64. | That Rock Was Christ |
| THE Lord permitted that there should be two occasions on which the want of water brought out utter want of faith in God in the people of Israel. He has allowed also considerable resemblance in the accounts of the two occasions, which we find in Ex. 17:1-7 1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? 3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? 4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not? (Exodus 17:1-7), and {vi |
| 65. | Thyatira, On the Message to |
| Looking at the messages to the churches as a picture of the successive conditions of the professing Church of God on earth, from the day when she left her first love till the day when she is spued out of Christ's mouth, thus showing the final result of losing the |
| 66. | Truth, and the State of Soul for Receiving It |
| There are two points, beloved friends, which I have a little on my mind to speak of; one we have directly in this chapter, and the other more in connection with the settling of the soul in the consciousness of the place into which grace brings us, and which enables |
| 67. | Vail Rent, Not Removed, The |
| " Thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made; and thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold upon the four sockets of |
| 68. | Warnings of Hebrews 6 and 10, The |
| I have been long assured that the apostle, in Heb. 6 and x., does not contemplate any amount of moral evil, but such offenses as call in question the glory and sufficiency of the Word of the Son of God. Such as "do despite to the Spirit of |
| 69. | Was Judas Iscariot at the Last Supper? |
| Few will deny that the descent of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2) was the commencement of the Church of God, builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Most will admit that 1 Cor. 11:23-34 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come. (1 Corinthians 11:23-34) contains an entirely new revelation as to the Lord's Supper for |
| 70. | We Know - We Know Not |
| One is deeply struck with the divine certainty with which God has certified to us, and revealed what is beyond this life. While at the same time He has hidden all that is of the path that is before us here, He has given us to say in words of |