“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mispeh and Shen, and
called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, hitherto hath the Lord helped
us.”—1 Sam. vii. 12
Did Samuel do this? Was that servant of the Lord, who lived not to see
Christ in the flesh, so full of faith in the coming Saviour, and in the
experience of Jehovah’s faithfulness in what was past, that he set up
his Ebenezer? Surely, my soul, thou wilt blush to be outdone by the
prophet, when thou hast not only seen the day of the Son of man
completed, but felt his power. Oh my soul, let thine Ebenezer be Jesus!
Let the stone thou settest up, be indeed the Rock of Ages. Yes, my
soul, set up Jesus indeed, in all places, at all times, upon all
occasions. And Oh Lord, do thou by thy blessed Spirit set up thyself in
my heart, and enthrone thyself there, and reign and rule there forever.
Surely, my soul, Jesus is thine every-day Ebenezer; for he not only
hath hitherto helped, but lie doth help, and will help, and be himself
thine help, thy God, thy Portion, thy Jesus, for evermore.
Joshua 23:14
“Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you.”—Joshua xxiii. 14.
Say, my soul, in looking back the past year, canst thou set thy seal to this truth? Is there a promise which thy God hath not fulfilled? Is there an instance in which God hath forfeited his word? Canst thou point to the time, or place, in any one trial, or under any one affliction, in which thou hast not found God faithful? Give then the Lord the honour due unto his name. If not one thing hath failed, proclaim his glory, set forth his praise, declare his truth, let the father to the children make known that God is faithful. And Oh let thine heart bear testimony to what must be said of all his Israel, in all ages, “What hath God wrought.”
Say, my soul, in looking back the past year, canst thou set thy seal to this truth? Is there a promise which thy God hath not fulfilled? Is there an instance in which God hath forfeited his word? Canst thou point to the time, or place, in any one trial, or under any one affliction, in which thou hast not found God faithful? Give then the Lord the honour due unto his name. If not one thing hath failed, proclaim his glory, set forth his praise, declare his truth, let the father to the children make known that God is faithful. And Oh let thine heart bear testimony to what must be said of all his Israel, in all ages, “What hath God wrought.”
Deuteronomy 11:12
“The eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. “—Deut. xi. 12.
Oh for grace, to live always under an abiding sense of this most blessed truth. My soul, never forget it, if possible, but always possess in recollection an abiding apprehension of Jesus’s gracious presence. And do thou, dearest Lord, when thou art coming forth in mercies, give me grace to. be going forth to meet thee with praises: and while thou art bartering thy riches for my poverty, let all thy bounties be doubly sweetened in coming from thine own hand, and being sanctified by thy blessing, that I may receive all to my soul’s joy, and to the praise of the Father’s grace in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Oh for grace, to live always under an abiding sense of this most blessed truth. My soul, never forget it, if possible, but always possess in recollection an abiding apprehension of Jesus’s gracious presence. And do thou, dearest Lord, when thou art coming forth in mercies, give me grace to. be going forth to meet thee with praises: and while thou art bartering thy riches for my poverty, let all thy bounties be doubly sweetened in coming from thine own hand, and being sanctified by thy blessing, that I may receive all to my soul’s joy, and to the praise of the Father’s grace in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Isaiah 54:10
“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed: but my
kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my
peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee.”—Isaiah liv.
10.
What a rest is here for a poor redeemed sinner to stand firm upon, in time, and to all eternity! Well may lie cry out concerning Jesus, and his great salvation in him, “He is a rock, and his work is perfect.” Yes, yes, thou Lord God of my salvation: thou art my dwelling-place in all generations. My soul, look all around thee, look within thee, look everywhere about thee. Search, behold, examine diligently, what else will or can afford thee any security. And think what a dying world it is in which thou art dwelling, or rather travelling through. What friend, what brother, what child, what relation, can give thee help of soul, or even of body, when thou most shalt need it? Think what a day, a week, an hour, may bring forth! Amidst all these changes, is Jesus thine? Doth he tell thee, “that though mountains depart, and hills be removed, his salvation and the Father’s covenant of peace is the same?” Shout, shout, my soul, and begin the song, which in a dying hour will only swell louder, “Salvation to God and the Lamb!”
What a rest is here for a poor redeemed sinner to stand firm upon, in time, and to all eternity! Well may lie cry out concerning Jesus, and his great salvation in him, “He is a rock, and his work is perfect.” Yes, yes, thou Lord God of my salvation: thou art my dwelling-place in all generations. My soul, look all around thee, look within thee, look everywhere about thee. Search, behold, examine diligently, what else will or can afford thee any security. And think what a dying world it is in which thou art dwelling, or rather travelling through. What friend, what brother, what child, what relation, can give thee help of soul, or even of body, when thou most shalt need it? Think what a day, a week, an hour, may bring forth! Amidst all these changes, is Jesus thine? Doth he tell thee, “that though mountains depart, and hills be removed, his salvation and the Father’s covenant of peace is the same?” Shout, shout, my soul, and begin the song, which in a dying hour will only swell louder, “Salvation to God and the Lamb!”
2 Timothy 2:8
“Jesus Christ of the seed of David.”—2 Tim. ii. 8.
Sweet thought! Jesus will have regard to both sexes in his incarnation. He will be of the seed of the woman. He will be also truly and properly man. As both the man and woman had sinned, so redemption shall be for both. But in the holy nature, in which as Redeemer he will come, he will partake of none of their sins. The man shall have no hand in his generation. And the womb of the woman shall be but the deposit of that holy thing so called, (Luke i. 35.) by the miraculous conception of the Holy Ghost. So that the body which God the Father prepared him, belonged to both, but was unconnected with either. He must be truly man; for the law had said, “Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy unto the Lord.” He must be a priest; and no woman could minister in that office. He must be a prophet; and no woman could exercise that province, for it is not permitted for a woman to speak in the church. He must be a king; and the kingly office belongeth not to the weaker vessel. But both sexes shall be equally at the same time concerned in the blessed event of his incarnation. The woman is saved in the child-bearing of this Redeemer, and the man brought into favour and reconciliation; “for as by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.” So that, as the apostle strongly and satisfactorily concludes, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, but ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Sweet thought! Jesus will have regard to both sexes in his incarnation. He will be of the seed of the woman. He will be also truly and properly man. As both the man and woman had sinned, so redemption shall be for both. But in the holy nature, in which as Redeemer he will come, he will partake of none of their sins. The man shall have no hand in his generation. And the womb of the woman shall be but the deposit of that holy thing so called, (Luke i. 35.) by the miraculous conception of the Holy Ghost. So that the body which God the Father prepared him, belonged to both, but was unconnected with either. He must be truly man; for the law had said, “Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy unto the Lord.” He must be a priest; and no woman could minister in that office. He must be a prophet; and no woman could exercise that province, for it is not permitted for a woman to speak in the church. He must be a king; and the kingly office belongeth not to the weaker vessel. But both sexes shall be equally at the same time concerned in the blessed event of his incarnation. The woman is saved in the child-bearing of this Redeemer, and the man brought into favour and reconciliation; “for as by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.” So that, as the apostle strongly and satisfactorily concludes, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, but ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”
John 1:14
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." - John i. 14.
Turn aside, my soul, this day, from every vain and worldly thought, as Moses did at the bush, and behold by faith the accomplishment of what he then saw in type and figure, of this great sight which the Lord hath made known unto thee. The Word, the uncreated Word, even the eternal Son of God, taking upon him the nature of man, and uniting both in one Person, that by the union he might be a suitable Saviour for his people. As God, he was mighty to save, and fully competent to the wonderful act. As man; he was a suitable Saviour, for the right of redemption belonged to him. And as both, he, and he alone, could become a proper Mediator, to reconcile and bring together God and man, which by sin were at variance. This was the glorious news angels posted down from heaven to proclaim. This was the song of heaven, for which they sung "glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men." My soul, canst thou join in the song? Yes, if so be thou hast received Christ in those glorious characters; if, as for this divine purpose he was born in our streets, he is born in thy heart also, and formed there the hope of glory. Oh it is a blessed thing to have true scriptural views of the Lord Jesus, and so to receive him, as Jehovah hath sent him forth, the Christ of God. Amen.
Turn aside, my soul, this day, from every vain and worldly thought, as Moses did at the bush, and behold by faith the accomplishment of what he then saw in type and figure, of this great sight which the Lord hath made known unto thee. The Word, the uncreated Word, even the eternal Son of God, taking upon him the nature of man, and uniting both in one Person, that by the union he might be a suitable Saviour for his people. As God, he was mighty to save, and fully competent to the wonderful act. As man; he was a suitable Saviour, for the right of redemption belonged to him. And as both, he, and he alone, could become a proper Mediator, to reconcile and bring together God and man, which by sin were at variance. This was the glorious news angels posted down from heaven to proclaim. This was the song of heaven, for which they sung "glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men." My soul, canst thou join in the song? Yes, if so be thou hast received Christ in those glorious characters; if, as for this divine purpose he was born in our streets, he is born in thy heart also, and formed there the hope of glory. Oh it is a blessed thing to have true scriptural views of the Lord Jesus, and so to receive him, as Jehovah hath sent him forth, the Christ of God. Amen.
Luke 2:8
“Shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”— Luke ii. 8.
My soul, think what a memorable night was that, which ushered in the wondrous day, the most momentous ever marked in the annals of time, since reckoning of days or years was made. The unconscious shepherds in the fields had no other thought but of their flock. But what a morning did the angels call them to celebrate! Now, my, soul, sit down and take a leisurely survey, of the wonderful story of Jesus’s birth. Mark the several volumes in it; for a night, yea, for a whole eternity must end before the subject of God incarnate can be exhausted in the meditation. Let thy evening thoughts on this, be followed by the night contemplation; and let thy midnight only be broken in upon, by the same call that the heavenly host gave to the shepherds. Arise but to sing as they sang, and to go in quest of Jesus, as they went. God and mall in one person, one Christ; and God in Christ coming for the purposes of salvation, will furnish out an hymn, which, though begun in life, will never end in eternity; “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men!”
My soul, think what a memorable night was that, which ushered in the wondrous day, the most momentous ever marked in the annals of time, since reckoning of days or years was made. The unconscious shepherds in the fields had no other thought but of their flock. But what a morning did the angels call them to celebrate! Now, my, soul, sit down and take a leisurely survey, of the wonderful story of Jesus’s birth. Mark the several volumes in it; for a night, yea, for a whole eternity must end before the subject of God incarnate can be exhausted in the meditation. Let thy evening thoughts on this, be followed by the night contemplation; and let thy midnight only be broken in upon, by the same call that the heavenly host gave to the shepherds. Arise but to sing as they sang, and to go in quest of Jesus, as they went. God and mall in one person, one Christ; and God in Christ coming for the purposes of salvation, will furnish out an hymn, which, though begun in life, will never end in eternity; “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men!”
Psalm 40:7
“Lo, I come.”—Ps. xl. 7.
What a longing had old testament saints for the Lord Jesus’s coming! And what an earnest wish and prayer it is among new testament believers, for Jesus’s coming by the visits of his grace, and the sweet influences of his Holy Spirit, from day to day! My soul, methinks I would realize by faith this day, even this very day, these words of thy Redeemer, as if he were now standing at the door of thine heart, and asking for admission. And shall I not say, under this sweet impression, “Come in, thou blessed of the Lord, wherefore standest thou without?” Oh blessed Jesus, when I consider the many precious instances of thy coming, set up from everlasting in thy goings forth for the salvation of thy chosen, thy anticipation, in thy visits before the season of thy tabernacling in our flesh; thy visits to the patriarchs and prophets; thy manifestation openly to the people; thy secret, sweet, and inexpressibly gracious visits now, and thy promised return in the clouds at the final consummation of all things; Oh Lamb of God, dost thou say, “Lo, I come?” Oh for the earnestness of faith, in all her devout longings, to cry out with the church of old, and say, “Make haste, my Beloved, and come! Oh come quickly, Lord Jesus!”
What a longing had old testament saints for the Lord Jesus’s coming! And what an earnest wish and prayer it is among new testament believers, for Jesus’s coming by the visits of his grace, and the sweet influences of his Holy Spirit, from day to day! My soul, methinks I would realize by faith this day, even this very day, these words of thy Redeemer, as if he were now standing at the door of thine heart, and asking for admission. And shall I not say, under this sweet impression, “Come in, thou blessed of the Lord, wherefore standest thou without?” Oh blessed Jesus, when I consider the many precious instances of thy coming, set up from everlasting in thy goings forth for the salvation of thy chosen, thy anticipation, in thy visits before the season of thy tabernacling in our flesh; thy visits to the patriarchs and prophets; thy manifestation openly to the people; thy secret, sweet, and inexpressibly gracious visits now, and thy promised return in the clouds at the final consummation of all things; Oh Lamb of God, dost thou say, “Lo, I come?” Oh for the earnestness of faith, in all her devout longings, to cry out with the church of old, and say, “Make haste, my Beloved, and come! Oh come quickly, Lord Jesus!”
Ephesians 1:9
“Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his
good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself.”—Eph. i. 9.
My soul, pause over these volumes of divine truth for they are not as so many simple words, but contain vast volumes indeed, and such as a whole eternity will not afford space to read over and finish. The first is a large one indeed—even the mystery of God’s will namely, the mystery of redemption, originating in the divine mind, before all worlds. And this is not the smallest part of it, that it should be made known in any degree or measure to thee, my soul, a poor creature of a day, and that day, a day of nothing but sin. The second volume in this vast subject is another precious part of the same glorious truth; namely, that this mercy of God in Christ is the sole result of God’s good pleasure. No foresight, no merit, no pretensions of thine, my soul; no, nor the merits of arch-angels, becoming in the least the cause. For though a gracious God hath taken occasion to make a glorious display of the depths of his grace, from the depths of man’s ruin; yet it was not our state, but his good pleasure, which laid the foundation of our recovery by Jesus Christ. And the third volume in this stupendous subject is, that he that planned, executed and finished it. As none but infinite wisdom could purpose, so none but infinite power could accomplish. Pause, my soul, and contemplate the vast mercy! It comes from God in Christ, as the first cause; and reverts back again to God in Christ, as the final end. Hallelujah.
My soul, pause over these volumes of divine truth for they are not as so many simple words, but contain vast volumes indeed, and such as a whole eternity will not afford space to read over and finish. The first is a large one indeed—even the mystery of God’s will namely, the mystery of redemption, originating in the divine mind, before all worlds. And this is not the smallest part of it, that it should be made known in any degree or measure to thee, my soul, a poor creature of a day, and that day, a day of nothing but sin. The second volume in this vast subject is another precious part of the same glorious truth; namely, that this mercy of God in Christ is the sole result of God’s good pleasure. No foresight, no merit, no pretensions of thine, my soul; no, nor the merits of arch-angels, becoming in the least the cause. For though a gracious God hath taken occasion to make a glorious display of the depths of his grace, from the depths of man’s ruin; yet it was not our state, but his good pleasure, which laid the foundation of our recovery by Jesus Christ. And the third volume in this stupendous subject is, that he that planned, executed and finished it. As none but infinite wisdom could purpose, so none but infinite power could accomplish. Pause, my soul, and contemplate the vast mercy! It comes from God in Christ, as the first cause; and reverts back again to God in Christ, as the final end. Hallelujah.
Psalm 69:4
“Then I restored that which I took not away.”—Psalm lxix. 4.
Whose words are these? They can be none but the words of Jesus; for none ever made restoration but he; and none but he could say, I took nothing away. And what was taken away? God’s glory was taken away by sin; and consequently, man’s happiness also. For when Adam sinned, he robbed God of his glory, and robbed himself and all his posterity of God’s image, and with it all happiness. Nay, my soul, thou hast done the same, in every renewed act of disobedience. And in breaking the divine law thou hast justly lost the divine favour. And hath Jesus, all precious Jesus, restored all these? Yes, blessings on his name, he hath! And what renders it ten-fold more gracious, he hath so done it as never to be lost any more. By his finished work of salvation he hath restored to God his glory. And by his obedience and death, as our Surety, he hath restored to man his happiness. The favour of God we lost by sin; Jesus hath restored it, by justifying us in his righteousness. The image of God we lost by rebellion; Jesus hath restored to us this image, in sanctifying us by his holiness. So that every way, and in all things, Jesus hath made up the breach; and the poor sinner who is led by grace to believe in Jesus, stands more complete and secure now; than before the fall. For if Adam had never sinned, nor his children in him, yet, after all, their righteousness before God would have been but the righteousness of creatures. Whereas now, in Jesus, the believer stands accepted and secured in the righteousness of the Creator. Hail, then, thou Almighty Restorer of our fallen nature! In thee, Lord, would my poor soul triumphantly say, “have I righteousness and strength; even to thee shall men come; and all that believe in thee shall never be ashamed nor confounded, world without end.”
Whose words are these? They can be none but the words of Jesus; for none ever made restoration but he; and none but he could say, I took nothing away. And what was taken away? God’s glory was taken away by sin; and consequently, man’s happiness also. For when Adam sinned, he robbed God of his glory, and robbed himself and all his posterity of God’s image, and with it all happiness. Nay, my soul, thou hast done the same, in every renewed act of disobedience. And in breaking the divine law thou hast justly lost the divine favour. And hath Jesus, all precious Jesus, restored all these? Yes, blessings on his name, he hath! And what renders it ten-fold more gracious, he hath so done it as never to be lost any more. By his finished work of salvation he hath restored to God his glory. And by his obedience and death, as our Surety, he hath restored to man his happiness. The favour of God we lost by sin; Jesus hath restored it, by justifying us in his righteousness. The image of God we lost by rebellion; Jesus hath restored to us this image, in sanctifying us by his holiness. So that every way, and in all things, Jesus hath made up the breach; and the poor sinner who is led by grace to believe in Jesus, stands more complete and secure now; than before the fall. For if Adam had never sinned, nor his children in him, yet, after all, their righteousness before God would have been but the righteousness of creatures. Whereas now, in Jesus, the believer stands accepted and secured in the righteousness of the Creator. Hail, then, thou Almighty Restorer of our fallen nature! In thee, Lord, would my poor soul triumphantly say, “have I righteousness and strength; even to thee shall men come; and all that believe in thee shall never be ashamed nor confounded, world without end.”
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