ANTAGONISM

The late Gordon H. Clark (Butler University)  points to "the flippancy and venom directed against biblical Christianity by the writers of college textbooks and the almost complete absence of specifically Christian teaching in the universities. Small groups and individuals, he says "fight manfully against our present evil world, but there seems to be no trend away from socialism in politics, ecumenicalism in the Church, and antagonism to the Word of God everywhere."

There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God --- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them (II Timothy 3:1-5).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Rise, My Soul, to Watch and Pray(Johann B. Freystein, 1697).  

Music by PCA Recording Artist Lori Sealy 

http://www.lorisealy.com/

FUTURE

A TV commercial for life insurance  encourages viewers to "Prepare Them for All That Lies Ahead," with the  pronoun, them ,referring to the viewers' family. It immediately occurred to me that the phrase could, however,  express a significantly different life-view, such as, "Parents, pastors and professors should remember that "all that lies ahead" consists ultimately of only two things, heaven, or hell." ---- pgs

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life (Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46.)

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God:

O Quickly Come, Dread Judge of All (Lawrence Tuttiet, 1854).

CERTAIN

Nothing whatever surprises God; all things that happen are absolutely certain from all eternity because they are all embraced in God's eternal plan. ---- J. Gresham Machen

 

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God... (Acts 17:25-28).

 

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. (Matthew 10:29).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum or whistle, to the glory of God: O Father, You Are Sovereign. Margaret Clarkson, 1982.

STRUGGLE

How daily, hourly, is the struggle with sin and fear and temptations -- it is never over! --- J. J. Bonar

 

And He said, temptations to sin are sure to come...(Luke 17:1).

 

No temptation has taken you, but such as is common to man... I Corinthians

 

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one (II Thessalonians 3:3).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God:

Yield Not to Temptation (Horatio Palmer, 1868).

SCEPTRE

The Bible is the sceptre by which the heavenly King rules His Church. ---- John Calvin

 

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people (Isaiah 2:3-4).

 

...unto the Son He says, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom (Hebrews 1:8).  

MILK

Godliness is the child of truth, and it must be nursed...with no other milk than that of its own mother. --- William Gurnall

 

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation --- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good (I Peter 2:2-3). 

WISDOM

Wisdom and the will of God are intimately related...Nothing is more vital for practical knowledge of the purpose of God than wisdom. -- Sinclair Ferguson

 

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair --- every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant in your soul (Proverbs 2:1-6, 9-10).

BURNING

When God saves us He lights a candle in our hearts that shall never be put out ---- pgs.

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! (Psalm 57:7).

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8)

Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you...and His glory will be seen upon you...Then you shall see and be radiant; you heart shall thrill and exult...and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob (Isaiah 60:1, 2, 16b).  

GROUNDS

If there be ground for you to trust in your own righteousness, then all that Christ did to purchase salvation and all that God did to prepare the way for it, is in vain ---- Jonathan Edwards

 

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified (Galatians 2:15-21).

MEET

Wherever you meet a Christian, he is going to heaven.  William Gurnall

 

When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:4).

DUST

"Lord, what is man?" Take him in his four elements, of earth, air, fire, and water. In the earth, he is as fleeting dust; in the air, he is as a dissappearing vapour; in the water, he is as a breaking bubble; and in the fire, he is as a consuming smoke. --- Wiliam Secker

 

Dust: Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life... (Genesis 2:7).

STUDY

It is not the work of the Spirit to tell you the meaning of Scripture, and give you the knowledge of divinity, without your own study and labour, but to bless that study, and give you knowledge thereby.... To reject study on pretence of the sufficiency of the Spirit, is to reject the Scripture itself. ---- Richard Baxter

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:8).

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little (Isaiah 28:10).

EARN

I believe that the root of almost every schism and heresy from which the Christian church has ever suffered has been the effort of men to earn, rather than to receive, their salvation. ---- John Ruskin

 

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel ---- not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed(Galatians 1:6-8).

 

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; .... Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us...so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:10, 11, 13, 14b).  

BADNESS

No man knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good. ---- C. S. Lewis

 

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

 

For I delight in the law of God in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:18, 22-25a).

POSTURE

Worship. Posture in worship is too often imposture. Thomas Watson.

 

Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of Our Salvation (Psalm 95:1).

 

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: O Come, Let Us Sing to The Lord(Scottish Psalter, 1650).

DOING

Oh, that I was all heart and soul and spirit to tell the glorious gospel of Christ to perishing multitudes! ---- Rowland Hill.

 

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we don't give up (Galatians 6:9).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God:

O Come, Let Us Sing to the Lord --- Scottish Psalter, 1650.

KNOWING

God knows what He is doing and He is not under any obligation to make us any explanation. ---- Elisabeth Elliot

 

Oh, the depth of the riches of the goodness and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond our tracing out! (Romans 11:33).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: God Is Working His Purposes Out, Ray Palmer (1858).

LIFE

Life.  The world is only a passage-room to eternity, the world is to us as the wilderness was to Israel, not to rest in but to travel through. --- Anonymous.

 

He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night. They asked, and He brought them quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and water gushed out, like a river it flowed in the desert. For He remembered HIs holy promise given to His servant Abraham. He brought out His people with rejoicing, His chosen ones with shouts of joy; He gave them the lands of the nations and they fell heir to what others had toiled for --- that they might keep His precepts and observe His laws. Praise the LORD. (Psalm 105:39-45).

 

For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end (Psalm 48:14).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah(William Williams, 1745).

CONVICTION

Conviction of sin.  The consciousness of sin alone leads men to turn to the Saviour from sin, and the consciousness of sin comes only when men are brought face to face with the law of God. ---- J. Gresham Machen

 

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me (Psalm 51:1-3).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: My Sins, My Sins, My Savior! John S. B. Monsell 1863.

NEED

"It is worthwhile to notice what kind of trouble it was that so stirred the compassion of Jesus at this time. It was because he saw the people as sheep not having a shepherd. It was not their hunger, nor their poverty, nor their sicknesses, but their spiritual need that so deeply touched his compassion. There were no wise, gentle, thoughtful pastors watching over the higher interests of their immortal nature, feeding them with heavenly bread, protecting them from the wolves of sin and lust and leading them in right paths." J. R. Miller, quoted by Kathleen Curto, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

 

When he [Jesus] went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things (Mark 6:34).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God:

Come unto Me. Ye Weary. William C. Dix, 1867

UNITY

Unity in the Faith.  Nothing does so much harm to the cause of religion as the quarrels of Christians. -- J. C. Ryle

 

I therefore...urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit...(Ephesians 4:1-4a)

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: How Beautiful the Sight (James Montgomery, 1771-1854).