Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Doubtless the reader has been tried with the temptation to rely upon
the things which are seen, instead of resting alone upon the invisible
God.
Christians often look
to man for help and counsel, and mar the noble simplicity of their
reliance upon their God.
Does this evening's portion meet the eye of a
child of God anxious about temporals, then would we reason with him
awhile.
You trust in Jesus
and only in Jesus, for your salvation, then why are you troubled?
"Because of my great care."
Is it not written, "Cast thy burden upon the
Lord"?...
Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication make known your wants unto God.
Cannot you trust God for temporals? "Ah! I wish I could."
If you cannot
trust God for temporals, how dare you trust Him for spirituals?
Can you
trust Him for your soul's redemption, and not rely upon Him for a few
lesser mercies?
Is not God enough for thy need, or is His
all-sufficiency too narrow for thy wants?
Dost thou want another eye
beside that of Him who sees every secret thing?
Is His heart faint?
Is
His arm weary?
If so, seek another God; but if He be infinite,
omnipotent, faithful, true, and all-wise, why gaddest thou abroad so
much to seek another confidence?
Why dost thou rake the earth to find
another foundation, when this is strong enough to bear all the weight
which thou canst ever build thereon?
Christian, mix not only thy wine with water, do not alloy thy gold of
faith with the dross of human confidence.
Wait thou only upon God, and
let thine expectation be from Him.
Covet not Jonah's gourd, but rest in
Jonah's God.
Let the sandy foundations of terrestrial trust be the
choice of fools...
But do thou, like one who foresees the storm, build for
thyself an abiding place upon the Rock of Ages.
~Charles Spurgeon~
Psa 107:23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
Psa 107:24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
He
is but an apprentice and no master in the art, who has not learned that
every wind that blows is fair for Heaven.
The only thing that helps
nobody, is a dead calm.
North or south, east or west, it matters not,
every wind may help towards that blessed port.
Seek one thing only: keep
well out to sea, and then have no fear of stormy winds.
Let our prayer
be that of an old Cornishman: "O Lord, send us out to sea...out in the
deep water."
Here we are so close to the rocks that the first bit of
breeze with the devil, we are all knocked to pieces.
Lord, send us out
to sea...out in the deep water, where we shall have room enough to get a
glorious victory.
~Mark Guy Pearse~.
Remember that we
have no more faith at any time than we have in the hour of trial.
All
that will not bear to be tested is mere carnal confidence.
Fair-weather
faith is no faith.
~C. H. Spurgeon~
Pro 12:19 The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
Truth wears well...
Time tests it, but it right
well endures the trial.
When, I have spoken the truth and have for
the present to suffer for it, I must be content to wait.
If also I
believe the truth of God and endeavor to declare it, I may meet with
much opposition...
But I need not fear, for ultimately the truth must
prevail.
What a poor thing is the temporary triumph of falsehood!
A lying lip is but for a moment!
It is a mere gourd which comes up in
a night and perishes in a night...
And the greater its development the
more manifest its decay.
On the other hand, how worthy of an immortal
being is the avowal and defense of that truth which can never change...
The everlasting gospel, which is established in the immutable truth of
an unchanging God!
An old proverb saith, "He that speaks truth shames
the devil."
Assuredly he that speaks the truth of God will put to shame
all the devils in hell...
And confound all the seed of the serpent which
now hiss out their falsehoods.
O my heart, take care that thou be
in all things on the side of truth, both in small things and great...
But
specially, on the side of Him by whom grace and truth have come among
men!
~Charles Spurgeon~
John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Of necessity we Must be in Christ
to live unto Him...
And we Must abide in Him to be able to Claim the generosity of this promise from Him.
To abide in Jesus is Never To Quit
Him For Another Love Or Another Object, but to Remain in Living, Loving, Conscious, Willing Union with Him.
The branch is not only ever near the
stem but ever Receiving life and fruitfulness from it.
All True Believers abide in Christ in a sense...
But there is a higher meaning, and
this we Must know before we can gain unlimited power at the throne.
Ask what ye will is for Enochs who walk with God, for Johns who lie in
the LORD's bosom, for those whose union with Christ leads to Constant Communion.
The heart Must remain in love...
The mind Must be rooted in faith...
The
hope Must be cemented to the Word...
The whole man Must be joined unto the
LORD...
Or else it would be dangerous to trust us with power in prayer.
The Full Power can only be given to one whose very life is, "Not I,
but Christ liveth in me."
O you who Break your fellowship, what Power
you lose!
If you would be Mighty in your pleadings, the LORD Himself Must abide in you, and you in Him.
~Charles Spurgeon~
There are seasons when to be still demands immeasurably higher strength
than to act.
Composure is often the highest result of power.
To the
vilest and most deadly charges Jesus responded with deep, unbroken
silence, such as excited the wonder of the judge and the spectators.
To
the grossest insults, the most violent ill-treatment and mockery that
might well bring indignation into the feeblest heart, He responded with
voiceless complacent calmness.
Those who are unjustly accused, and
causelessly ill-treated know what tremendous strength is necessary to
keep silence to God.
Men may misjudge thy aim, Think they have cause to blame, Say, thou art wrong;
Keep on thy quiet way, Christ is the Judge, not they, Fear not, be strong.
St. Paul said, "None of these things move me."
He did not say, none of
these things hurt me.
It is one thing to be hurt, and quite another to
be moved.
St. Paul had a very tender heart.
We do not read of any
apostle who cried as St. Paul did.
It takes a strong man to cry.
Jesus
wept, and He was the manliest Man that ever lived.
So it does not say, none of these things hurt me. But the apostle had
determined not to move from what he believed was right.
He did not count
as we are apt to count...
He did not care for ease...
He did not care for
this mortal life.
He cared for only one thing, and that was to be loyal
to Christ, to have His smile.
To St. Paul, more than to any other man,
His work was wages, His smile was Heaven.
~Margaret Bottome~
Deu 12:28 Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.
Though salvation
is not by the works of the law, yet the blessings which are promised to
obedience are not denied to the faithful servants of God.
The curses
our LORD took away when He was made a curse for us, but no clause of
blessing has been abrogated(done away with).
We are to note and listen to the revealed will of the LORD, giving our
attention not to portions of it but to "all these words."
There must be
no picking and choosing but an impartial respect to all that God has
commanded.
This is the road of blessedness for the Father and for His
children.
The LORD's blessing is upon His chosen to the third and fourth
generation.
If they walk uprightly before Him, He will make all men
know that they are a seed which the LORD has blessed.
No blessing can
come to us or ours through dishonesty or double dealing.
The ways of
worldly conformity and unholiness cannot bring good to us or ours.
It
will go well with us when we go well before God.
If integrity does not
make us prosper, knavery(dishonest dealing) will not.
That which gives pleasure to God will
bring pleasure to us.
~Charles Spurgeon~
Samson was thirsty and ready to die.
The difficulty was totally
different from any which the hero had met before.
Merely to get thirst
assuaged is nothing like so great a matter as to be delivered from a
thousand Philistines!
But when the thirst was upon him, Samson felt that
little present difficulty more weighty than the great past difficulty
out of which he had so specially been delivered.
It is very usual for God's people, when they have enjoyed a great
deliverance, to find a little trouble too much for them.
Samson slays a
thousand Philistines, and piles them up in heaps, and then faints for a
little water!
Jacob wrestles with God at Peniel, and overcomes Omnipotence itself, and then goes "halting on his thigh!"
Strange that there must be a shrinking of the sinew whenever we win the
day.
As if the Lord must teach us our littleness, our nothingness, in
order to keep us within bounds.
Samson boasted right loudly when he
said, "I have slain a thousand men."
His boastful throat soon grew
hoarse with thirst, and he betook himself to prayer.
God has many ways of humbling His people.
Dear child of God, if after
great mercy you are laid very low, your case is not an unusual one.
When David had mounted the throne of Israel, he said, "I am this day
weak, though anointed king."
You must expect to feel weakest when you
are enjoying your greatest triumph.
If God has wrought for you great deliverances in the past, your present
difficulty is only like Samson's thirst, and the Lord will not let you
faint, nor suffer the daughter of the uncircumcised to triumph over you.
The road of sorrow is the road to heaven, but there are wells of refreshing water all along the route.
So, tried brother, cheer your heart with Samson's words, and rest assured that God will deliver you ere long.
~Charles Spurgeon~
Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Paul, while being denied every comfort, wrote the above words from a dark prison cell.
A story is told of a king who went to his garden one morning, only to find everything withered and dying.
He asked the oak tree that stood near the gate what the trouble was.
The oak said it was tired of life and determined to die because it was not tall and beautiful like the pine tree.
The pine was troubled because it could not bear grapes like the grapevine.
The grapevine was determined to throw its life away because it could not stand erect
and produce fruit as large as peaches.
The geranium was fretting because it was not tall and fragrant like the lilac.
And so it went throughout the garden.
Yet coming to a violet, the king found its face as bright and happy as ever and said, “Well, violet, I’m glad to find one brave little flower in the midst of this discouragement.
You don’t seem to be the least disheartened.”
The violet responded,“No, I’m not....
I know I’m small, yet I thought if you wanted an oak or a pine or a peach tree or even a lilac, you would have planted one.
Since I knew you wanted a violet, I’m determined to be the best little violet I can be.
Others may do a greater work, But you have your part to do...
And no one in all God’s family Can do it as well as you.
People who are God’s without reservation “have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”
His will becomes their will, and they desire to do for Him whatever He desires them to do.
They strip themselves of everything, and in their nakedness find everything restored a hundredfold.
Beware of manufacturing a God of your own:
A God who is all mercy, but not just;
A God who is all love, but not holy;
A God who has a heaven for every body, but a hell for none;
A God who can allow good and bad to be side by side in time...
But will make no distinction between good and bad in eternity.
Such a God is an idol of your own...
As truly an idol as any snake or crocodile in an Egyptian temple.
The hands of your own fancy and sentimentality have made him.
He is Not the God of the Bible...
And beside the God of the Bible there is no God at all.
~J.C. Ryle~
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
The Lord Jesus is in
the midst of His church; He walketh among the golden candlesticks...
His
promise is, "Lo, I am with you alway."
He is as surely with us now as He
was with the disciples at the lake, when they saw coals of fire, and
fish laid thereon and bread.
Not carnally, but still in real truth,
Jesus is with us.
And a blessed truth it is, for where Jesus is, love
becomes inflamed.
Of all the things in the world that can set the heart
burning, there is nothing like the presence of Jesus!
A glimpse of Him
so overcomes us, that we are ready to say, "Turn away Thine eyes from
me, for they have overcome me."
Even the smell of the aloes, and the myrrh, and the cassia, which drop
from His perfumed garments, causes the sick and the faint to grow
strong.
Let there be but a moment's leaning of the head upon that
gracious bosom...
And a reception of His divine love into our poor cold
hearts...
And we are cold no longer, but glow like seraphs, equal to every
labour, and capable of every suffering.
If we know that Jesus is with
us, every power will be developed, and every grace will be strengthened,...
And we shall cast ourselves into the Lord's service with heart, and
soul, and strength...
Therefore is the presence of Christ to be desired above all things.
His presence will be most realized by those who are most like Him.
If you desire to see Christ, you must grow in conformity to Him.
Bring
yourself, by the power of the Spirit, into union with Christ's desires,
and motives, and plans of action, and you are likely to be favoured with
His company.
Remember His presence may be had.
His promise is as true
as ever.
He delights to be with us.
If He doth not come, it is because
we hinder Him by our indifference.
He will reveal Himself to our earnest
prayers...
And graciously suffer Himself to be detained by our
entreaties, and by our tears,...
For these are the golden chains which bind
Jesus to His people.
~Charles Spurgeon~
Contentment is the product of a heart resting in God.
It is the soul's enjoyment of that peace that passes all understanding.
It is the outcome of my will being brought into subjection to the Divine will.
It is the blessed assurance that God does all things well...
And is, even now, making all things work together for my ultimate good.
~Arthur Pink~
Deu 1:36 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.
Every difficult task that comes across your path...every one that you would rather not do, that will take the most effort, cause the most pain, and be the greatest struggle...brings a blessing with it.
And refusing to do it regardless of the personal cost is to miss the blessing.
Every difficult stretch of road on which you see the Master’s footprints and along which He calls you to follow Him leads unquestionably to blessings.
And they are blessings you will never receive unless you travel the steep and thorny path.
Every battlefield you encounter, where you are required to draw your sword and fight the enemy, has the possibility of victory that will prove to be a rich blessing to your life.
And every heavy burden you are called upon to lift hides within itself a miraculous secret of strength.
~J. R. Miller~
I cannot do it alone; The waves surge fast and high, And the fogs close all around,
The light goes out in the sky; But I know that we two Will win in the end, Jesus and I.
Cowardly, wayward, and weak, I change with the changing sky;
Today so eager and bright, Tomorrow too weak to try;
But He never gives in, So we two will win, Jesus and I.
I could not guide it myself, My boat on life’s wild sea;
There’s One who sits by my side, Who pulls and steers with me.
And I know that we two Will safe enter port, Jesus and I.
Isa 33:16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
The man to whom God has given grace to be of blameless life dwells in
perfect security.
He dwells on high, above the world, Out of gunshot of
the enemy, and near to heaven.
He has high aims and motives, and he finds high comforts and company.
He rejoices in the mountains of eternal love, wherein he has his abode.
He is defended by munitions of stupendous rock.
The firmest things in
the universe are the promises and purposes of the unchanging God, and
these are the safeguard of the obedient believer.
He is provided for by
this great promise: "Bread shall be given him."
As the enemy cannot
climb the fort, nor break down the rampart, so the fortress cannot be
captured by siege and famine.
The LORD, who rained manna in the
wilderness, will keep His people in good store even when they are
surrounded by those who would starve them.
But what if water should
fail?
That cannot be. "His waters shall be sure."
There is a
never-failing well within the impregnable fortress.
The LORD sees that
nothing is wanting.
None can touch the citizen of the true Zion.
However
fierce the enemy, the LORD will preserve His chosen.
~Charles Spurgeon~
Num 9:19 And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not
This was the ultimate test of obedience.
It was relatively easy to fold up their tents when the fleecy cloud slowly gathered over the tabernacle and began to majestically float ahead of the multitude of the Israelite's.
Change normally seems pleasant, and the people were excited and interested in the route, the scenery, and the habitat of the next stopping place.
Yet having to wait was another story altogether.
When the cloud remained, however uninviting and sweltering the location, however trying to flesh and blood, however boring and wearisome to those who were impatient, however perilously close their exposure to danger...there was no option but to remain encamped.
The psalmist said, “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry” (Ps. 40:1).
And what God did for the Old Testament saints, He will do for believers down through the ages, yet He will often keep us waiting.
Must we wait when we are face to face with a threatening enemy, surrounded by danger and fear, or below an unstable rock?
Would this not be the time to fold our tents and leave?
Have we not already suffered to the point of total collapse?
Can we not exchange the sweltering heat for “green pastures...[and] quiet waters” (Ps. 23:2)?
When God sends no answer and “the cloud remain[s],” we must wait.
Yet we can do so with the full assurance of God’s provision of manna, water from the rock, shelter, and protection from our enemies.
He never keeps us at our post without assuring us of His presence or sending us daily supplies.
Young person, wait...do not be in such a hurry to make a change!
Minister, stay at your post! You must wait where you are until the cloud clearly begins to move.
Wait for the Lord to give you His good pleasure! He will not be late!
~Daily Devotional Commentary~
An hour of waiting!
Yet there seems such need To reach that spot sublime!
I long to reach them...but I long far more To trust HIS time!
Sit still, My children...
Yet the heathen die, They perish while I stay!
I long to reach them...but I long far more To trust HIS way!
It’s good to get, It’s good indeed to give!
Yet it is better still...O’er breadth, through length, down depth, up height, To trust HIS will!
~F. M. N.~
